Winds of Change
by Snake.B
Summary: A young boy lands on Ohara the day before a terrible event takes place. He befriends a young girl that most of the islands inhabitants treat as a monster. How will this boy change the young girl's future as they spend time together and get closer to each other? [OCxRobin] [LuNa]
1. Chapter 1

**Somewhere in the West Blue**

A nine year old boy laid in his boat as he sailed on the ocean. He was of moderate height and had a decent build from learning to protect himself. He had green eyes and cobalt blue hair. He wore a red shirt and black pants. The boy had been sailing for about a week and unfortunately he had run out of food the day before and would starve if he didn't come across an island anytime soon.

 _'I kind of figured that I would have come across an island by now,'_ the boy thought, as he continued to drift in the ocean.

Just as this thought crossed his mind, the boat came to an abrupt halt. The sudden stop jarring him from his daze. He slowly sat up and was surprised to hear someone gasp. He turned around and saw a girl that looked about his age standing next to the boat. She had raven black hair, sky blue eyes, slightly tanned skin and wore a red dress.

"Hello," he greeted her with a smile.

She looked rather surprised, but slowly smiled back and said, "Hello."

The boy jumped out of his boat and began pulling it onto the shore. "My name's Chris," he introduced. "What's yours?"

"Nico Robin," she said. She then pointed behind her, "And that's Jaguar D. Saul."

Chris followed where she was pointing and gaped at what he saw. Jaguar was a huge man with yellow skin and an orange beard that went around his face and up to his hair. He wore a black shirt, gray jeans, and a cowboy hat.

"He's humongous!" he shouted.

"Dereshishi!" Jaguar laughed, though he also had tears in his eyes. "That would be because I'm a giant. You can call me Saul, by the way." He gave the boy an appraising look before asking, "Where are you from and why did you leave your home?"

"I'm from Ilusia," Chris told him. "I left there when my parents passed away and decided to leave the island." He looked over to Robin and saw that she was frowning. He poked her head causing her to jump.

"W-What?" she questioned. Chris just arched a brow causing her to sigh slightly. "My parents aren't here either. My father passed away before I was born and my mother left when I was young for her job."

"Do you have any other family or at least some friends?" he asked.

Robin flinched and tears stung her eyes, "I've been living with my aunt and uncle, but she treats me horribly. My uncle tries to stop her, but there's only so much he can do. I don't have any friends either."

"I see, you've had it much rougher than me," he said, frowning. He then smiled, "Well, I'll gladly be your friend."

Her head snapped up and she looked at the boy with wide eyes. "Y-You would?" she asked, hesitance in her voice. Behind her, he saw Saul look slightly surprised, but quickly grinned widely.

Chris grinned as well, "Sure! I don't see why no one would want to be friends with a cute girl like you."

She blushed at his compliment, but quickly frowned as the tears resurfaced. He noticed that Saul was frowning slightly. "It's because I'm a monster," she said.

Chris snorted catching them by surprise, "Why would you or anyone think you are a monster?" She hesitated before waving an arm and four arms appeared on the ground around him. He glanced between Robin and the arms before saying, "If you're a monster, then I'm a demon."

The two looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean?" Saul asked.

Chris flicked his hand to the side and launched a gust of wind at the water, making it spray upwards. They stared at the boy, shocked looks on their faces.

"I ate a Devil Fruit as well. The Wind-Wind Fruit to be precise. I can control and turn into wind," he told them. He turned to Robin, "You aren't a monster Robin. From what little I've seen you are a very sweet girl." She blushed again at his words, but before they could say anything else, his stomach decided to make itself heard. It was his turn to blush as Robin giggled and Saul laughed his interesting laugh.

"I guess you are hungry, huh?" she asked, still giggling.

He rubbed the back of my head, "Yeah, I am. I haven't really eaten since yesterday."

This stopped their laughter immediately and they stared at him with wide eyes. "What!? Why didn't you say anything?" Robin exclaimed.

Chris shrugged, "I felt like cheering you up was more important." She rolled her eyes with a slight blush. _'That's the third time in maybe twenty minutes that she's blushed. Has she really never been treated nicely before?'_ he thought to himself with a deep frown. He was brought out of his thoughts when Robin poked his forehead. He blinked several times making her giggle.

"Now we're even," she said, grabbing the boy's hand and leading him out of the area. "We'll be back tomorrow Saul!"

"Take care of yourself Robin. Watch out for her Chris," Saul said, his normal voice loud enough for them to hear as they walked.

"Sure thing Saul," he called back.

Robin puffed her cheeks, mumbling she could take care of herself. Chris chuckled as he followed her. The whole time she held onto his hand and he was starting to blush slightly. Sure he complimented her, but to be holding her hand like this wasn't something he was expecting. Before they reached the town they were approached by three boys and a girl, all of whom had a sneer on their face. When Robin saw them she frowned and let go of Chris' hand, but continued walking. The four spread out taking up the entire path to block them from walking farther. As they neared the boy at the end spoke.

"And what are you doing monster?" he questioned.

"Yeah, monster," the second boy repeated.

Chris rolled my eyes, he honestly didn't know which he hated more, bullies or the parrots that followed them around.

"Hey who's that?" the third boy asked.

"Don't know," the first boy replied. "I've never seen him before."

"Hey, why don't you come hang out with us instead of that monster?" the girl suggested.

Chris leaned forward and whispered into Robin's ear, "Don't stop, keep walking."

She glanced at him, a worried look in her eyes, but she nodded. When they were a few feet from them Chris raised a hand and blew a breeze strong enough to knock them to the side. Their eyes widened and a look of horror spread across their faces before they ran back into town screaming.

"He's a monster too! It's contagious!" they shouted.

Chris rolled his eyes, "Morons."

"Are you sure you should have done that?" Robin asked worriedly. "They're going to tell everyone and they will treat you like they do me."

"I could care less how they treat me. I'm your friend and part of that is I won't let anyone hurt you. Physically or otherwise," he said.

She smiled sweetly, "Thank you."

He smiled back as we continued on their way to the village. When they finally reached it, the town looked relatively empty. Glancing around, he noticed shades were drawn and shutters were closed.

"I think everyone knows," he stated dryly.

"This is where I live," Robin said, leading him to one of the houses.

She opened the door and they walked inside. They went into the kitchen and Robin began making a sandwich for her new friend. Robin couldn't keep the smile off of her face as she thought of having a friend her age. However, she couldn't help but feel that something was different in how she felt for Chris. She shook herself, having never had a friend her own age she wasn't really sure what she was feeling. She picked up the plate and put it on the table.

"Here you go," Robin said.

"Thanks," he said, picking up the sandwich and started to eat. He soon finished and smiled at Robin. "That was delicious. Thank you."

"Your welcome," she said.

The door suddenly opened and someone entered the house. They turned around to see a portly woman with oddly thin limbs, lips like a suckerfish, small beady eyes, and fluffy red hair. She wore a simple short-sleeved orange shirt and black pants.

"Aunt Roji," Robin said, fear in her voice.

The woman glared at the young girl, "What are you doing standing around? You have chores that you are supposed to be doing." She glanced at the boy sitting at the table and scowled, "And who the hell are you and why are you in my house?"

Chris scowled back and got out of the chair. He stood between the two females. "Robin's friend," he said, deliberately not answering her completely.

"That freak doesn't have any friends," she sneered.

He glared at the woman before summoning a gust of wind to push her backwards. As she fell flat on her ass, she glared at him. She stood up and stomped over to him.

"So you're just like her, huh? I guess freaks stay together," Roji said, scowling. "You're leaving." She grabbed him by his collar and lifted him off the ground.

"No! Leave him alone!" Robin shouted, surprising the two from the sudden outburst. However, Roji's surprise quickly turned to anger and she slapped Robin.

"Don't you dare talk to me like that!" she yelled. "As for you, I'll-" she turned to the boy, but froze when she saw the look in his eyes. He was glaring at her with a great amount of anger.

He suddenly dispersed in a gust of wind. He reformed in front of the woman and kicked her in the stomach, knocking her back several feet. Roji fell to her knees and looked at the boy with a small amount of fear in her eyes.

"How dare you treat Robin in such a way. She's your family and she doesn't deserve it," Chris said, still glaring at the woman. "You will never treat her like that again while I'm here. And I don't plan on leaving anytime soon." He grabbed Robin's hand and led her out of the house and slammed the door. He turned to her and saw that she was staring at him wide eyed. He gently placed a hand against the cheek that had been struck, causing her to wince, but she didn't move away. "Sorry about that, but when she hit you it just made me so angry."

Robin blushed at the contact, but smiled, "Thank you for standing up for me."

"Of course!" Chris exclaimed, with a toothy smile. "Like I said, I will do what I can to keep you from getting hurt." Her smile widened and her blush deepened at his words. "Do you have anywhere else we can go?"

She nodded, "Yes, while what I said about not having friends is true, I get along with the archaeologists at the library." She pointed to her right and he turned that direction and his jaw dropped. In the center of the town was a colossal tree. Robin giggled at his expression.

"How in the world did I miss that?" he muttered to himself, causing Robin to laugh.

"Come on," she said, grabbing his hand again and leading him to the tree. They soon reached the tree and Robin opened the door and called out, "Professor Clover! Everyone! I came for a visit."

"Robin!" they all called out as they rushed over to the young girl.

"Robin, not that I'm not glad to see you, but what are you doing here? It's getting rather late," a man said, walking forward. He wore a red-and-white striped shirt with a large belt at his waist, pants and a blue-and-black jacket. His hair was green and it jutted out to the sides and were rounded like leaves as was his beard. The top of his head was shaved and stuck straight up.

 _*Snrk*_

The sudden sound caused everyone to turn to the door, where they saw a blue-haired boy trying to hold in his laughter. After a moment he couldn't hold it back and started laughing. The archaeologists stared at the boy in confusion and Robin tilted her head to the side, wondering what was going on with her friend.

She walked up to him and asked, "Why are you laughing, Chris?"

"I don't m-mean to be rude, but his h-hair just looks so odd," he gasped out. At his admission, Robin giggled and several of the scholars chuckled. After a moment, he calmed down and met the man's gaze. "Sorry about that sir. I just wasn't expecting it," he apologized.

"It's fine, and my name's Clover. Who are you? I've never seen you before," he said.

"My name's Chris," he said. "I sailed here from Ilusia because I didn't really have a reason to stay there."

Concern crossed the adults faces. "What about your family?" a woman asked.

"My parents passed away a couple weeks ago," he answered a sad look in his eyes. "I didn't have any other family there, so it wasn't hard of a decision to make."

"You didn't have any friends either?" Robin asked, surprised that such a nice person didn't have at least one friend.

Chris shrugged, "I never really got along with any of them. It was nothing like with you and the kids here, though. We just never really clicked."

"And what are you to Robin?" Clover asked.

It was Robin however that answered. "He's my friend," she said, with a bright smile.

They were all slightly surprised at this, but slowly smiled and began to congratulate the girl. Clover pulled Chris to the side, saying that he wanted to talk to the boy.

"What is it Clover?" he asked the older man.

"You are really going to be friends with Robin?" he asked.

"That's right. She's a nice girl and I hate how she's being treated like a freak just because she has a Devil Fruit ability," Chris said. He then muttered, "Wouldn't have kicked her aunt if I didn't want to be friends with her."

"You kicked her aunt?" Clover asked, torn between shock that he attacked an adult and joy that the old bat being taught a lesson.

Anger entered Chris' eyes as he said, "Yes, because she slapped Robin." Clover scowled at that, he'd heard about how she treated the young girl. "When she did that, something in me snapped and I kicked her in the stomach." He looked at the man sheepishly, "I was kind of wondering if you would mind us staying here for a few days."

Clover nodded in agreement, "It would probably be for the best if Robin stayed away from her aunt for a while. But why do you want to stay here? I'm sure someone would be willing to let you stay with them."

"I'm afraid that they think me similarly to Robin," he said. At the man's questioning look, Chris let wind whip around him, jostling his clothes.

Clover's eyes widened, "You have powers as well. Alright, you can stay too."

The boy smiled, "Thanks."

The two children spent the rest of the day at the library just reading and spending time together. When night came, the archaeologists took the kids to bed for them to get some sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Robin and Chris were sitting on a boulder as Saul pushed his finished raft into the water. Robin was resting, unknowingly leaning against Chris who had a light blush on his face.

Saul glanced at the two and chuckled. "The raft is finished!" he announced before laughing.

His laugh woke Robin up and she glanced to her side. Her face lit up and she bolted straight when she saw she was leaning against Chris. She turned to the giant and tried to get rid of her embarrassment.

"So, you're leaving already?" she asked sadly. Chris stayed on the ground as he looked at the giant.

Saul turned to Robin and said, "What's wrong? You've got 'I'm lonely' written all over your face." He glanced at the boy sitting next her, "You've got another friend and he's your age." Robin just stared sadly at him. _'I guess I was her first friend,'_ Saul thought. He smiled, "You know, I was thinking of attaching a flag or something. So I'll be staying here a little longer." He started laughing, as Robin smiled before she mimicked his laugh. Chris chuckled at the two.

As he sat down, Robin spoke up, "I want to head out to sea sometime."

Saul glanced at her, "You wanna set out to sea, too?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "My mom's been busy with her archaeological research all this time. When she comes back to the island next time, I'm going to ask her if she'll take me out to sea with her." She glanced at Chris, "Maybe you would come with us?"

"If she didn't mind, I would love to," he said with a smile.

Robin smiled and continued, "That's why I studied hard and I was finally able to become an archaeologist too." This surprised her two friends.

"An archaeologist? When you are still so small?" Saul questioned.

"Yep," she said happily.

Saul frowned slightly, "But... you don't really remember what your mom looks like right?"

"Right," Robin said, sadly. "But she's my mom. I want to see her." Chris placed a comforting hand on her shoulder making her smile. "Hey Saul?"

"Hm?" the giant questioned.

"Did you know that there's a 100 years of blank history that no one knows about?" she asked. Chris cocked his head to the side, curious as to what she was talking about.

"Yeah. It's called the 'Void Century'," Saul said. "It would be interesting to know what happened, but the Government prohibits people from investigating it, so…" he trailed off.

"That's right. I heard that's what my mom is investigating as she travels the world," Robin said. "Please don't tell anyone about that, since it's actually a crime."

He tensed at that information and looked down at the young girl. "A-Are you saying that she's searching for the stones called Poneglyphs?" he questioned shakily.

"You know about the Poneglyphs?" Robin asked, slightly surprised.

"Of course I do!" he exclaimed, as quietly as a giant could. "But don't talk about it in front of others, okay!?" He glanced at Chris, "You'll keep this a secret right?"

Chris was confused what the big deal was, but seeing the giant so worried, he nodded, "Yeah, I'll keep it to myself."

Saul nodded, "And don't tell anyone about your mom looking for…" He suddenly inhaled sharply and seemed to realize something.

"Is something wrong?" Robin asked.

"Do you happen to know what your mom's name is, Robin?" he asked seriously.

"Her name's Olvia," she said with a smile. "Nico Olvia."

Saul stared at her in stunned silence before he fell backwards in shock. The crash jostled the two where they sat.

"Saul!?" she exclaimed, questioningly.

"What's up?" Chris asked the giant.

Saul just laid on his back, completely stunned. _'Robin is Olvia's daughter..!'_ He quickly sat up and asked, "Then… is this island… is it called Ohara!?"

"Yeah," Robin answered.

"Ahh! This is horrible! Oh, no!" he shouted suddenly. "So, I drifted onto Ohara!?"

"Wait, haven't you been here for a few days?" Chris questioned. "How do you not know what island this is?"

"I didn't think it was all that important," Saul said.

"So you were just going to sail aimlessly?" the boy asked, with an arched brow. He was one thing, being a kid, but a grown up not thinking about that seemed rather dumb.

"This isn't the time to be sitting around talking," the giant quickly said. He looked down at them and said seriously, "Robin."

"What is it?" she asked.

"This might be a shock to you, but I need you to listen carefully," he started. "Navy battleships are heading for Ohara as we speak."

"The Navy's coming? Why?" Robin questioned, confused.

"To eliminate the scholars on this island!" he exclaimed.

"Eliminate them?" she repeated, stunned.

"Hold on! Why would they do that!?" Chris shouted.

"I don't have time to explain. Robin whatever you do, don't tell the Government that you're a scholar," he instructed, seriously. "Do you understand?"

"That's a lie!" Robin shouted. "It has to be!"

"It's the truth, Robin," he insisted. "I wouldn't lie to you! You need to head back to town and see if anything strange has been happening! It's possible that your mom is back too!"

"Eh?" Robin said in shock.

"Are you serious?" Chris asked, shocked as well.

"There's a distinct possibility," he said. "Now go! Hurry!"

At his insistence, Robin grabbed Chris' wrist and they started heading back to town. They ran through the forest as fast as their short legs would take them.

XxX

When they eventually returned to the town, the people were running around in a panic about ran in the opposite direction as the two kids. As Chris and Robin neared the library, they passed a woman. Robin ran by without a second glance, but Chris looked back over his shoulder as they continued to run. She had white hair, a tan jacket, light blue t-shirt and long green trousers. He didn't know what, but something about the woman stuck out to him. However, unable to think of what he continued heading to the Tree of Knowledge with Robin.

They finally reached the doors to the library and Robin pushed them open. The two stopped just inside, both of them panting, though Robin more than Chris. All of the scholars turned to look at the children.

"Robin? Chris? What's the matter?" Clover asked.

After regaining her breath, Robin asked, "Did my mom come here?" Everyone tensed at her question.

"What are you saying?" Clover questioned. "There's no way that your mother is in Ohara, right?"

Chris narrowed his eyes at them. Their reaction to her question was suspicious and something didn't feel right. He didn't know what, but the air around the others seemed to be rather erratic, as if they were all panicking but doing their best to hide it.

"Why are you asking all of a sudden?" Clover asked.

"U-Uh," Robin faltered. Her eyes widened and said, "Oh, right! Everyone there's trouble. I heard that Navy battleships are coming to this island so they could capture all of the scholars on Ohara."

"Is a disturbance or something happening in town?" Clover inquired.

"What?" Robin asked, sounding slightly upset.

"It isn't a battleship. We heard that a Government ship just came to this island," Clover told her, approaching the two. He knelt down, "It will probably be a more rigorous investigation than ever. Listen, Robin. Even if Government people _do_ come, don't tell them that you are an archaeologist, no matter what." He looked directly in her eyes, "Since you're so young, no one will think that you are a scholar. Got it?"

Robin just stared at Clover, unsure of what to do. The door suddenly opened behind them and a man was shoved to the ground. Everyone looked up and the two kids turned to see a group of men in black suits and yellow ties standing in the entrance, rifles in their hands.

"Stop what you're doing!" one of them ordered. "Get outside with your hands in the air!"

"You are being rather violent," Clover stated, calmly.

"This Ohara lab and the scholar in it are suspects in a serious crime- deciphering Poneglyphs," the man shouted. "It requires a thorough search, so all of you, outside right now!"

Clover approached the man, "Treat this place with care. The value of everything in here is beyond what you could imagine."

"We don't need to listen to what you say," the man retorted. "Get them outside!"

"Yes, sir!" the other men shouted before they started to usher everyone out.

As some of the men led everyone out, the others started tearing the place apart. As soon as the first bookcase fell, some of the scholars tried to stop them, but were forced outside. Everyone was escorted a good distance away from the library, where the scholars sat on the ground and Robin and Chris stood in front of them. The two watched and listened as the villagers began to freak out.

"Robin, Chris… It seems that there is an evacuation ship. There's no telling what the Government is going to do. You two should hurry up and head there as well," Clover instructed.

"No! I don't want to! Besides Chris, there won't be any nice people on there!" she refused. "I'll stay here with you! After all I'm-" Before she could finish, Chris moved forward and covered her mouth. Luckily the men weren't really paying attention to them.

"Robin, don't say it!" he whispered. "Both Clover and Saul said not to tell them what you are."

As he moved away from her, a loud obnoxious laugh caught their attention. They turned to see three men approaching. The two on the side were dressed similarly to the ones that were practically ransacking the library. The one on the left wore sunglasses and a hat while the right wore red tinted glasses and earrings. The man in the middle wore a dark blue suit with a pink shirt and a tie. He had a striped gray coat draped over his shoulders.

"Are you guys working hard," the man in the middle called out.

The men stood at attention and exclaimed, "Thank you for taking the trouble to come here, Chief!"

"Anyway, I didn't expect a ferocious animal would appear here," the guy in the middle complained. As the men got near, they saw a woman with white hair slung over the left man's shoulder. "I was almost killed," the man continued with a smirk.

All of the scholar's eyes widened when they saw her. The man threw the woman to the ground, however to everyone's shock she gently landed on the ground. Everyone glanced at each other in confusion. Robin looked at Chris, who let out a small sigh of relief.

Shaking himself, the man with the coat said, "All right, listen carefully all of you. This woman is an escaped prisoner. The group she was a part of was recently eliminated for the crime of deciphering the Poneglyphs. However, we still don't know who the ringleader is. Although if you guys are connected to this woman, it will make things very simple."

 _'I can't believe they're so horrible to just hurt a woman like that,'_ Robin thought. Chris stared at the men feeling a bit of anger welling up inside him.

"Robin, you need to hurry to the evacuation ship!" Clover said.

At hearing the young girl's name, the woman slowly regained consciousness. She looked up and gazed at Robin. The two children noticed this and Robin looked away with a small blush while Chris watched her in confusion and curiosity. She had a warm smile on her face and tears were in her eyes. A sudden explosion caused them all to jump. The scholars immediately voiced their outrage at this action.

"To think they would take such drastic measures," Clover muttered.

"Whoa… It seems they've made a big show," the man with the coat stated.

A transponder snail that the man with a hat was holding started ringing. The man with the coat picked it up.

"Hello, is this the Chief?" the man on the other side asked.

"Yeah, it's me," the man said.

"We've found it!" he announced. "There was a secret room in the basement, and inside, we found what we believe is a Poneglyph as well as research documents that clearly discuss the ancient texts."

"Alright well done," the Chief said. He hung up and started chuckling, "Well, scholars of Ohara! Your death sentence has now been decided." He had his arms spread wide and a sinister grin on his face, "It really is regrettable, that the world's best archaeologists lose their lives together today." He suddenly sighed and looked very disappointed, "See? What a letdown. That was all I had to do! The only thing left that I have to do is report this to the Five Elder Stars."

"Roger," the man with the hat said, picking up the transceiver again.

Robin turned to Clover, "Are they really going to kill all of you, Professor!? That's a lie, right? Why would they do that just because you read the ancient texts!?"

"It really doesn't make any sense," Chris said, not understanding why they had to go to such lengths.

"Idiots! You brats! The purpose of their research is to revive a powerful weapon so that they could commit mass murder," the Chief shouted.

"That's not true!" Robin denied. "They weren't thinking anything like that!"

"Robin, that's enough," Clover spoke up. "It's pointless to discuss the matter with an errand boy like him."

"He doesn't look like he's all that bright," Chris commented quietly.

"What did you say!?" the man yelled at the scholar.

Clover stood up, "Is it really the weapon itself that the Government is afraid of?"

"It's connected, Chief," the man with the transponder snail said.

"Okay."

"That's good timing," Clover said, getting the Chief's attention. "Let me talk to the Five Elder Stars, the world's leaders, before I die. We, the scholars at Ohara, have continued our research for a long time, and although the research isn't completed yet, we formed a hypothesis about the 'Void Century'. So I would like to report it to them."

"How ridiculous," the Chief muttered. "Hey."

"Yes, sir," the man said.

"Robin, Chris, get out of here immediately," Clover said. "If you listen to what I'm about to say is a serious crime."

"Professor..," Robin said in shock. Chris grabbed her hand and lead her away from them. "Chris!" she exclaimed. "What are-!?"

"We are just getting out of their sight," he said, quietly cutting her off. They reached a nearby building and hid behind it. "There. We can still hear them, but they can't see us." Robin got as close as she could without being out in the open, which meant she was standing right behind Chris.

"They have a Poneglyph in their library and we found notes about them studying it," they heard the Chief report.

"Is that so?" the man on the transponder snail said.

"Yes, they deserve the death penalty," he said. "Since we received the evidence, we will carry out your orders."

"It cannot be helped," the man said. "This is quite unfortunate; however, they violated the world's laws. We cannot overlook it."

"Enough of the blatant superficial talk, Five Elder Stars," Clover said.

"Wha! Don't be rude!" the Chief yelled. "You are talking to the leaders of the world."

"Is that Ohara's Professor Clover, the authority of archaeology?" the Elder questioned. "I know your name well, since you have contributed to the world's culture. To think that someone of your caliber would take the wrong path."

"The past belongs to all of mankind," Clover stated. "No one has the right to stop one from wanting to know our unspoken history!"

"Reading the Poneglyph makes it possible to revive the ancient weapon, which puts the world in danger," the Elder said. "Even if your research had good intentions, all it takes is for someone to come along and use your research."

Clover narrowed his eyes, "No matter what happened in the past, if humans created that history, we should accept it all. If we don't succumb to fear and learn all of history, we can take countermeasures no matter what might happen."

"That is an idealistic argument," the Elder retorted.

"Is that so?" Clover inquired. "Isn't that reasoning just a convenient excuse for you? Out of what is still left of us, what interests us the most are the contents of the Poneglyphs, along with their reason for existing in the first place. Why did the ancients go through the trouble of inscribing the text on hard stones in order to pass it down to the future? They inscribed history on unbreakable stones and scattered them around the world. Isn't it because they thought that their message would be eradicated if they transcribed it like one would normally? In other words, it is the proof that those who left the Poneglyphs clearly had an enemy."

"What exactly are you trying to say, Professor Clover?" the Elder questioned.

At his question Clover started speaking about the ancients enemy and who he, and probably the other scholars, thought they were. Most of it went over Chris' head and, while she understood more, Robin was slightly lost too. She didn't know as much about the stones as the adults, after all. However, from what they could gather is that the World Government was who they suspected the enemy of the ancients was.

"I see," the Elder said, slowly. "That is a rather bold hypothesis you've drawn."

"It's true that the ancient weapon would threaten the world," Clover admitted. "However, isn't it the more accurately that the World Government is threatened by people becoming aware of that kingdom's existence and ideology?" The Chief looked like he was getting rather upset with every word the old scholar said. "We still have to analyze what this threat is, but the name of this once-prosperous kingdom that holds the key to everything is…"

The Elder suddenly shouted, "Eliminate him!"

The Chief was all too happy to oblige as he reached into his suit and pulled out a pistol. He aimed at Clover and quickly pulled the trigger. Time seemed to slow, as the bullet connected the old man and he fell backwards.

"Professor!" Robin shouted in fear. The scholars shouted in outrage, as they stood and began moving toward the fallen man.

As the men aimed their rifles at the scholars, the Elder said. "Ohara has learned too much." He almost regrettably ordered, "Give the attack signal." _Almost._ "Don't let even a single person escape."

Before Chris could react, Robin ran toward Clover, crying a great deal. He quickly followed behind her to keep her safe.

The Chief suddenly pulled out a golden transponder snail. Instead of a transceiver however, was a button.

"Well, then," he started. "Using this golden transponder snail entrusted to me by Admiral Sengoku, I'll initiate the Buster Call!"

Robin reached the old scholar and knelt next to him, "Professor." Chris stood behind her, keeping an eye on the men surrounding them.

"Robin, Chris," Clover breathed, heavily. "You foolish children. You shouldn't still be here! Run!"

The man with the coat pressed the button on the snail, and said, "Take care of the rest."

The scholars started panicking slightly as they saw him do this. Clover sat up slightly, and said, "You two must hurry and head to the evacuation ship."

"No! Not without you," she refused.

"I'd really rather not force her about something like this," Chris said, not wanting Robin to cry anymore than she already had.

"Don't say such foolish things at a time like this," Clover admonished.

Suddenly, a fire erupted from the Tree of Knowledge. Immediately, the scholars began yelling at the Government officials that they should leave the place alone.

The Chief just scoffed, unconcerned, "Don't look at me. The explosion from earlier must have sparked a fire."

"Do you know how many important documents are in there!?" a scholar shouted.

"Don't move!" a Government agent ordered, pointing his gun at the man.

"We don't need guns anymore," the Chief, stopped the man. "Those from the Government head back."

"Hurry up and get the books out of there," Clover instructed.

The scholars hesitated for a moment, but quickly complied and started heading to the library. All of them yelling to put out the fire.

"Tch, I don't think they'll be able to put it out fast enough," Chris muttered. Before anyone could say anything, he disappeared in a gust of wind. He reappeared in the middle of where the fire was taking place. "I think a strong enough gust should put the flames out."

"Chris! What are you doing!? Get out of there!" a scholar shouted.

He ignored the woman and focused on spinning the wind around him. He slowly expanded the wind and soon the entire area looked like there was a whirlwind going on. Papers flying everywhere, a few books knocked off the shelves, but most importantly, the flames slowly died down and eventually were extinguished. When the fire was gone, the wind practically vanished. A bunch of paper and a couple books that were still in the air, fell to the ground.

Chris turned to the dumbstruck scholars. "I figured disarrayed was better than burned beyond recognition," he said, somewhat sheepishly.

Much to his surprise though, they all cheered and thanked him for putting the flames out. He smiled slightly, embarrassed by the praise, however an explosion rocked the ground, shocking all of them. Chris quickly changed back into wind and headed over to Robin. When he got outside, however, he was froze. There were explosions and fires happening everywhere. He saw Robin slowly approaching the white haired woman from before. He ran after her and reached her when she was a few feet from the woman. He stood still as she continued to walk forward.

"I wanted to do this," Robin said, sitting down and grabbing woman's hand. "... all this time." Tears were running down both of their faces. The woman quickly couldn't take it and pulled Robin into a hug, both of them crying. "Mom!"

Chris' eyes widened shock, but a smile spread across his face as he watched mother and daughter be reunited.

"Is it true, Robin? You can read the Poneglyphs?" Clover questioned. "I should have paid closer attention to you so that wouldn't happen."

"I-I'm sorry. I just wanted to be able to read them at any cost, so that-" Robin started, but her mother cut her off.

"I'm really surprised that you are able to do something like that," she said. "You must have studied very hard." She pulled back and placed a hand on her daughter's head. "That isn't something that anyone is able to do. That is really amazing, Robin!" The praise from her mother caused Robin to start crying again as she held onto her.

"Thankfully, the only ones that heard her say that are the officials," Clover said. "Olvia, take Robin and head to the evacuation ship. If you can sneak aboard, the two of you can get off the island." He turned to the young boy, "Chris! Go with them and protect them as best you can!"

Before any of them could do anything, they felt the ground shake and heard heavy footfalls heading in their direction. Turning toward the sound was coming from. Clover looked in shock as a giant walked through the thick smoke.

"Robin, Chris! There you two are!" he exclaimed. "I've been looking everywhere for you two."

"Saul!" the two kids yelled in surprise.

He looked at woman, "So you were able to see Olvia!"

"Saul!?" Olvia exclaimed in shock. "What are you doing on Ohara!?"

"By some twist of fate, I got shipwrecked here and little Robin saved me on the beach," he explained. He shook his head, "More importantly, the situation is terrible! You need to leave the island immediately!"

Olvia stared at Saul in shock for a moment, before pushing Robin forward a little. "Please take care of Robin. Please let my daughter escape from the island at any cost!" she pleaded.

Robin, of course, protested to this. "No! What about you, Mom!? Aren't you going to come with me!?"

"What are you going to do, Olvia?" Saul questioned, not understanding what she was doing.

"There's still something I have to do here," she said.

"I don't want to separated from you Mom!" Robin tried to convince Olvia. "I was finally able to meet you! I'll stay here, too!" she said, hugging her mother.

"Robin," Olvia started, hugging her back. "You are a scholar of Ohara, so you should know this very well." She pulled back from Robin, her hands on the young girl's shoulders. "History is the treasure of mankind. I know it will light up the future you young ones will live in. But the history we received from the past will disappear unless we pass it on to the next era." Olvia placed a hand on Robin's head and began petting her, "Revealing the history isn't what Ohara was trying to do. We just wanted to accept the voices of the past and protect them. Our research will end now, but even if Ohara is completely destroyed, we cannot give up the future you young ones will live in!"

As Olvia had been trying to make Robin feel better, Chris moved next to her mother and gathered wind around him. **"Wind-Wind Barrier,"** he muttered. A gust of wind swirled around Olvia, but neither her nor Robin seemed to notice. _'There. Hopefully that will keep her relatively safe,'_ he thought.

"I don't understand!" Robin shouted.

"You will one day," Olvia said, confidently. She stood up and looked at the giant, "Now, Saul! Take her and go!"

He hesitated, but reached down and grabbed both Robin and Chris. "Are you sure about this?" he questioned.

"Yes, I am," she said, resolutely.

"No! Mom! I'll stay here, too!" Robin protested, but Saul turned around and started running to the shore. "Mom!"

"Live Robin!" they heard Olvia shout.

Chris pulled Robin into a hug. She threw her arms around him, as she cried into his chest.

"I'm sorry Robin," he said, unable to think of anything else to say. "I can't even imagine how you're feeling, but if it helps." He pulled back and looked straight at her, "I placed a wind barrier around her. Hopefully, it will help keep her safe."

Robin looked up at him, a hopeful look in her eyes, "Do you think that will keep her alive?"

"I really hope so, Robin," he murmured. "It's never been put through something like this, so all we can do is hope. I really am sorry for not being able to do more."

Robin lowered her head back into his chest and she started to cry once more.

"Be proud Robin!" Saul suddenly shouted. "Your mom is honorable! Ohara is honorable! Someday, pass down this island's history, Robin! Ohara fought against the world!" The explosions suddenly seemed concentrated on them. "They are aiming at me!" He saw a cannonball heading straight for them. He quickly covered Robin and Chris with his other hand, protecting them from the blast.

"Saul!" they both shouted in concern.

"Sorry about that, Robin, Chris," the giant apologized. "That must have frightened the two of you." He placed the two on the ground. "Hold on a second," he said, before running at the ship near the coast. When he reached the ship, he grabbed the sides and started to lift.

"Saul, stop!" Robin yelled.

Undaunted, the giant picked giant ship out of the water. He then threw the ship straight into another on that was nearby, destroying both of them. Saul then started to wade out to the destroyed ships, intending destroying them completely. However, before he could another cannonball hit him square in the face.

"Saul! Please, stop! You'll die if you keep going!" Robin pleaded.

He turned to the two kids, "What are you two doing!? You need to get to the evacuation ship now!"

Chris saw a cannonball headed straight for them and thrust his arms forward, shooting a strong gust at the ball. The cannonball exploded as soon as it met the strong wind. However, the strength of the blast knocked the two backwards.

Robin looked up and stared at her burning home as tears streamed down her face. "Mom!" she yelled. Chris felt his heart ache at her anguished cry.

"Robin! Hurry and run to the ship!" Saul shouted. "What was your mom's wish!?"

Robin's eyes widened slightly as she remembered her mother's last words to her. She clenched her fists, as tears started to stream down her eyes again.

"Chris! Protect her to the best of your power!" he shouted to the boy.

Chris nodded, before taking Robin's hand and running toward the evacuation ship. She didn't fight against him, but instead let him lead her to safety. As they neared the boat, however, the kids from yesterday shouted.

"Aren't those the monsters!"

"Yeah, it is!"

"Get away, monsters!"

"Hey! Don't be ridiculous!" one of the adults reprimanded.

"Wait, hold on a second! Isn't the girl the daughter of Olvia, a criminal, who was in the paper before?" another one countered.

"You're right! If she gets on the ship, it might cause the rest of us trouble."

"She's just a child you idiot! Let her and the boy get on!"

"Evacuation ship!" a voice called out. "Don't let that brat on board! Even though she's just a child, she is an archaeologist. She's a target of our attack!"

"C-Chief Spandine. Is that true!?"

"See?! If you had let her on, we would have all been in danger!"

"Boy! Get on!"

"Screw you!" Chris shouted, shocking everyone, even Robin. "I'm not going to leave my friend to die!"

He started leading her away, "Come on! My boat should still be where I left it yesterday." _'Hopefully,'_ he thought. Ice flying over them and a loud crash caused them to stop. They turned around to see the giant lying face down on the ground.

"Saul!" they shouted.

A man landed a short ways away from Saul. "Oh, my, my," the man said, sounding unconcerned. "It won't look good if a Buster Call is blocked by a former marine, now will it?"

Saul slowly stood up, "Kuzan! Can you take pride in this attack? Pull back! This isn't right! You should know that! This is just a warning! They are wiping out Ohara to make an example of it!"

"If it is for the future of the world, it can't be helped," the man, Kuzan, said uncaring. "In fact, these scholars are violating the laws, aren't they? Justice changes its form depending on the position you are in. So I won't criticize your sense of justice." Kuzan furrowed his brow, "But if you are in our way, I can't let you be."

The two stared at each other for a moment when suddenly an explosion a short ways from the coast drew everyone's attention. They all turned and looked in horror as the evacuation ship caught fire, fell to pieces, and began sinking.

"That idiot..!" Kuzan cursed, his impassive voice finally breaking.

Robin fell to her knees, a look of horror on her face. Even through everything a lot of the villagers put her through, they were part of her village. Chris gritted his teeth and clenched his fists in anger.

"Is this something 'justice' would do!?" Saul shouted. "Can you still keep your head high!?" He raised his arm and swung at the man, who jumped out of the way.

"I don't intend to go as far as the that idiot does!" Kuzan retorted.

As this was happening, Chris was seething with anger. He brought his hands together and started forming wind in them. As he did this, he subconsciously used the wind to locate where ships were that he couldn't see. When he felt the wind be disrupted, he memorized where it was. Once he finished forming the wind in his hands, Chris spread his arms wide and seven miniature tornadoes were lined up between them.

 **"Wind-Wind..,"** Chris said, gaining everyone's attention. He snapped his fingers, causing the tiny whirlwinds to disappear. The other's stared at the boy in confusion, until he shouted, **"Tornado Barrage!"**

Several crashes caught the three's attention and they spun toward the sound. They were shocked to see several tornadoes had appeared out of nowhere and had destroyed several of the marine ships. Chris fell to his knees, the attack taking more out of him than he thought it would.

Saul recovered quickly and scooped the two children up. "We're gonna run, Robin, Chris! He's abnormally strong!" he yelled, as he started running.

However, Kuzan recovered as well and before Saul could get very far, he yelled, **"Ice Time Capsule!"**

A trail of ice shot out from the man's hand and headed straight for Saul. He tripped as the ice caught his leg, freezing it.

"Saul! Are you okay!?" Robin yelled. Chris looked up at the giant in worry.

"Robin, Chris! Run, now!" Saul implored. He placed the two on the ground. "Run with all the strength you can muster! You will die if you stay on the island! Sail out on my raft!"

"What about you, Saul?" Robin questioned.

"This is it for me," he said, regrettably. "I've been caught. Go!" Robin just stood there, staring at Saul, not wanting to be separated from her first friend. "Listen carefully, Robin! You may not have many friends now, but you will meet more someday for sure!"

"I will?" Robin said, sounding unsure.

"That's right," Saul said, breathing heavily. "The sea is a vast place and Chris became friends with you. So, I know someday, you'll definitely make more friends." He took a deep breath and shouted with conviction, "Because no one is born into this world to be alone!" He glanced back, as Kuzan started walking forward, "Now run, you two! Don't look back! When you are having a bad time, laugh like this, just like I taught you!" Kuzan placed a hand on Saul's frozen leg.

"Watch out, Saul!" Robin yelled.

"Saul!" Chris shouted.

"Dereshishi!" he laughed.

 **"Ice Time,"** Kuzan said. The ice started spreading over the giant.

"Saul!" the two exclaimed.

"Go meet the friends that are surely waiting for you somewhere at sea, Robin!" Saul managed to say before being encased in ice.

Robin started crying as the two turned around and started running away from the man of ice.

XxX

Chris and Robin soon reached the shore, but froze when they saw Kuzan sitting on a stump. Next to him was a small row boat in between two trails of ice.

Without even looking at them, Kuzan spoke, "Absolute justice can often drive people mad." He paused for a second before continuing, "I've decided to let the two of you escape from this island. What will sprout from the seeds that Saul protected with is life? Who you bear a grudge against is up to you, but for now, just be glad that you are alive. Live as quietly as possible. I drew lines on the sea with ice. If you just go straight with the boat there, you both will reach land. And remember this." He stood up and started walking passed the two. As he did, Chris glared right at the man. "I'm not your ally. I am your enemy. I will be the first to come after you two if you cause trouble."

"My mom's still on the island!" Robin said, hoping he would help.

"No one will survive," he said, not looking back. "If the pain you are feeling makes you want to die, then you are free to do that as well."

Chris placed an arm around Robin and gently led her to the small boat. When they were on, he kicked off of the coast. He took the oars and slowly started to row. As he did, Robin watched as the fire continued to burn the island. She tried, almost desperately, to laugh like Saul did, like he'd taught her. However, she couldn't hold back her tears and began crying. Chris paused in his rowing and pulled Robin into a hug, as she continued to cry. Once she had calmed down, he glared at the ice. With a blast of wind, he smashed an opening and rowed out of the aisle.

"What are you doing?" Robin asked, sniffing.

"I'm not going to listen to the man that took your friend from you," Chris said, determinedly. "It may be a bit longer, but we're going to find an island ourselves."

* * *

The scholars paused in their frantic pursuit to get the books out of the library. Aside from the roaring flames, it had grown unusually quiet.

"What's going on?" Clover wondered.

"Everyone!" one of the scholars shouted, looking out the window. "Look outside!"

All of the scholars rushed over to a window and looked through it. Their eyes widened in shock as they saw several tornadoes over the wreckage of ships.

"Be safe Robin," Olvia said.

"That might actually be a good thing," Clover said.

"What do you mean?" she asked, confused.

"Do you remember the boy that stayed close to Robin?" he questioned.

Olvia thought back and did remember a blue haired boy standing nearby. "Yes, I remember seeing him, but what does-?"

"He ate a Devil Fruit," he said, making her fall silent. "He was able to control the wind, so those might be because of him."

"The marines are retreating!" someone yelled.

"Of course," Clover scoffed. "The first sign of trouble and they run."

Before anyone could say anything, another scholar yelled, "Professor! Olvia! The evacuation ship! It's…" She fell silent, as if she could bring herself to say it.

They ran over to window she was looking out. Horror spread across their faces as they saw the evacuation ship destroyed and on fire.

"Robin," Clover murmured, horrified.

Olvia fell to her knees, as tears streamed down her face. "Robin!" she shouted in anguish.

Everyone stood completely still, unable to come to terms with what they saw. All of a sudden, it started pouring down rain. The shower slowly started putting the fires across the island out.

"Even the heavens cry at this injustice," Clover said, tears flowing from his eyes as well. He gained a determined look and exclaimed, "No!" Everyone jumped at his sudden shout. "I refuse to believe Robin is gone. Chris was with her and I believe that he will protect her." He ran down to one of the lower levels, much to everyone's confusion. They all followed him and were shocked when he pulled one of the remaining upright bookcases to the side to reveal a safe. He quickly put in the combination and opened the door. He pulled out a small chest and walked back to everyone, stopping in front of Olvia.

"What's in there?" Olvia asked. Clover opened the chest, to reveal a light gray oval-shaped fruit with spirals all over it. "What is that?"

"This is a Devil Fruit," he answered. "I found it in the basement one day and placed it in that safe. I had actually forgotten about it until now. It will give the one who eats it special abilities, but with the cost that you sink like a hammer in the ocean." He held it out to her. "I want you to go look for Robin and take this with you. If nothing else, it will help you protect yourself."

Olvia picked up the fruit and stared at it for a moment before looking up. "Are you sure, Clover?" she asked. He nodded and she looked back down at the fruit. She slowly brought it to her mouth and took a bite out of it. Immediately, she started coughing and gagging.

"What's wrong Olvia?" Clover asked, concerned.

"It's disgusting!" she yelled, causing a few scholars to snicker. Olvia calmed down and looked out a window. _'Be safe Robin. I will find you. I don't know when and where, but we will meet again,'_ she thought resolutely.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Just a warning, there will be a few time jumps in the next few chapters. The reason being that going through so many years until the start of One Piece would take too long to go through everything that happens to them, not to mention repetitive with what happens.**_

* * *

Chris continued to row as Robin had laid down to sleep. It had been a couple days since the incident and Ohara, as well as the marine ships, were long since out of sight.

He looked at the girl in front of him, tears still in her eyes. _'I swear to you Robin, that I will protect and be there for you,'_ he swore. To that effect he put a wind barrier around Robin. He jerked in shock when the boat collided with something. He whirled around and saw a ship right behind him. He looked up at the ship. It was a dark blue, that faded in the dark night, and there was a jolly roger fluttering at the top of the mast.

"Captain!" a voice shouted, snapping Chris from his observation. He glanced up to see a man looking down at them. "There's a boat with two kids in it right next to us!"

"Well, bring them aboard!" another, slightly deeper, voice called.

Chris hesitated, he was unsure if pirates were the kind of people they should be with. _'Well, they can't be any worse than the marines can they?'_ he figured. The man from before lowered a couple ropes and he tied them to the boat. As they were slowly lifted up, He leaned forward and gently shook Robin's shoulder, "Robin, wake up."

She opened her eyes and slowly sat up. Rubbing her eyes, she asked, "What's going on?"

"A pirate ship is letting us board," he told her.

"Pirates!?" she exclaimed, fearfully.

"Easy, Robin," Chris tried to calm her. "I know it's risky. It isn't really my first choice either, but, hey, maybe they're better than the marines."

"I-I suppose," Robin relented.

"Pirates better than marines?" someone laughed, making them spin around. They looked at a man that was rather buff, had brown hair, stood probably a foot taller than Clover did, and wore a blue v-neck shirt that showed his muscles, tan pants and had a sword in his belt. He was smiling roguishly as he asked, "What happened to you to make you think that?"

Chris glanced at Robin, who's head was lowered. He said, "It's not my place to say and it happened too recently to expect her to feel comfortable talking about it. Plus, we just met you."

The man narrowed his eyes, "I would rather know who I'm about to let on my ship. Now, how about you two-"

"Captain!" someone yelled rushing up to the man. "Take a look at these." He handed the captain two pieces of paper.

He took them and looked carefully at them. His eyes widened and he glanced up at the two children with a curious and somewhat suspicious look in his eyes. The captain held the papers out and they saw that they were wanted posters. But what shocked them, was that they were wanted posters for them. The picture of Robin was of her looking back, almost as if she was looking at the photographer. Chris' was more intimidating, as it was taken when he was about to attack the Buster Call ships. His cobalt hair whipping in the wind he had been generating and an angry glare on his face.

'Devil Child' - Nico Robin  
79,000,000 Beli

'Wind Demon' Chris  
86,000,000 Beli

"What did you do to get this much on the marine's bad side?" the Captain questioned. "Both of those are bigger than my bounty of 43 million Beli."

"Well, sir," the man who had given him the posters spoke up. "According to this newspaper, the girl is one of the scholars from Ohara that were trying to destroy the world and the boy destroyed seven marine ships."

The Captain arched a brow, "Why do I find those hard to believe? Though I must say boy, that's one hell of a glare you got there. Anyway, as I mentioned I'm a wanted man myself so you wouldn't be out of place. If you do chores for us, we'll feed ya and give you a place to sleep."

"Robin?" Chris questioned, glancing at her.

She hesitated moment before saying, "It would be better than just sailing aimlessly. Especially since we don't have any supplies of our own."

Nodding in agreement, Chris turned back to the Captain, and said, "We'll do what we can."

He nodded back, "Alright, you can start by cleaning the deck."

* * *

 _A week passed as Chris and Robin worked on the pirate ship they had come across. They kept their powers a secret from the pirates, so they could take them by surprise if the need ever arised. They were left well enough alone by the pirates aside from being told what they needed to do and worked diligently at what they were told to do. However, the peace would soon be disrupted when they docked on an island._

* * *

Chris and Robin sat next to each other on the railing of the ship as the pirates had gone ashore to get supplies that they needed.

"They've been relatively nice considering what you usually hear of pirates," he said.

Robin nodded, "Yes, while nothing like people you'd run into on an island, they aren't complete savages like the marines portray them as."

"True, but we should still watch out," he cautioned. "I'm sure that there are pirates that are exactly like that."

"Of course," she agreed. She glanced back, "Don't you think they are taking awhile to get what they need?"

"It has been kind of a..." he trailed off as a strange feeling fell over him.

"What's wrong, Chris?" she asked, noticing his expression.

"I-I'm not sure. I just had a bad feeling," he said, looking at the island. He jumped back on the deck and helped Robin down. He then led her behind a corner.

"What are we doing?" she questioned worriedly, concerned about how her friend was acting.

"Just being cautious," he answered. "The feeling is getting stronger." Barely a minute passed from him saying that, and they saw a group of men making their way to them. Unfortunately it wasn't the pirates they had been sailing with. "Marines."

"What do we do?" Robin asked, frantically.

"First off, we should stay calm," Chris said. "Second, our boat is thankfully on the side of the ocean. So before they climb aboard, you should get in and lower yourself to the ocean and start rowing away."

"What!? What about you? Are you goi-"

"I don't plan on leaving you, Robin," he assured her. "I'm just going to warn the others about the marines. I'll be right back OK?" She hesitated slightly before nodding. "Alright, now go." He dispersed into wind and flew above the ship. He watched as Robin quickly and quietly made her way to the boat. Once she was in, she lowered herself to the water and started rowing away from the ship. Nodding to himself, he made his way to the island and started looking for the pirates. Surprisingly, he saw them not far from what seemed like the one in charge of the group of marines. Maintaining his wind form, Chris neared them.

"So, you are going to not only leave us alone, but give us half of their bounty right?" the Captain asked, likely making sure the marine remembered their deal. Chris scowled and the wind picked up around him as he glared at the pirate captain.

"Yes, yes, we will ignore you and your crew, as well as give you half of their combined bounty," the marine said, a deep frown on his face, probably not liking making a deal with a pirate. "You'll have to wait until we get the two first."

A scream made Chris' blood run cold. _'Robin!'_ he thought in panic. He spun around and made his way to her. He eventually saw her out on the ocean and was both simultaneously relieved and angered. Angry that she was being shot at by the marines and relieved that she was unharmed, his barrier doing its job of deflecting the bullets away from her. _'The bullets must have, understandably, scared the hell out of her,'_ he thought.

He moved between the men and let himself reappear. It took a minute, but the men jumped sideways when they finally noticed the boy. They all aimed their rifles at him and told him not to move. Much to their confusion, and slight disconcert, Chris was completely unfazed by the weapons pointed at him. He started to slowly raise his hands as wind whipped around them. The movement unsettled the men and they fired.

"Chris!" Robin cried.

Chris' heart ached as he heard Robin scream his name out in sadness and fear. The bullets, however, just passed through him and wind whirled around the holes in his body instead of blood. The marines stared in shock as their weapons didn't affect the boy in the slightest and the 'wounds' closed up.

At this point, his arms were completely raised, pointing to either side of him. **"Wind-Wind Blast,"** he said, as he launched a concentrated blast out of each hand, knocking the marines back several feet. He quickly changed back into wind and made his way to Robin. When he made it back to the boat he reverted to normal. As soon as he did Robin threw her arms around him, tears brimming in corners of her eyes.

"I-I thought I h-had lost you too," she sniffed.

Chris rubbed her back comfortingly, "I'm sorry if I worried you Robin, but like I told you when we met and like you saw, I'm able to turn myself into wind, making attacks pass harmlessly through me."

She sniffed a few times before asking, "What about the others?"

He snorted, "The Captain turned us into the marines."

"H-He did?" Robin asked, slightly disbelieving.

"He did," Chris confirmed. A bullet whizzing passed them brought them back to their predicament. He tightened his hold on her with one hand while he pointed his other behind the boat. "Hold on, Robin," he instructed. When he felt her hands grip him tighter, he yelled, **"Wind-Wind Blast!"** The burst of wind launched them forward at a great speed. He kept the wind going until the island was barely visible anymore. With a sigh of relief, Chris slumped backwards, the continued blast tiring him out slightly. However, he and Robin still had a grip on each other, so he unintentionally pulled her down with him. Robin let out a squeak of surprise and embarrassment as she practically laid on top of Chris. Both of their faces burned red and he quickly let go of her. "S-Sorry," he mumbled.

Robin didn't move right away as she stared into his eyes and he looked back at her. They didn't move as they stared deeply at each other, emerald meeting sky blue, the only sound was the ocean moving around them. Only when the boat lurched slightly were they broken from their trance. Robin sat up and moved to the side of the boat, her face completely red, while Chris moved to the oars and started rowing, his own face as red as an apple.

* * *

 _The next six years of Chris and Robin's life were spent on the run from the marines. They were betrayed time and time again from those that helped them. Whether it was pirates or even civilians, they all turned on them and told the marines where they were while some just outright ran them out of town. However, Chris always managed to be one step ahead of them as he always felt some strange disturbance before it was about to happen. As he continued to feel it, he began questioning it less and less and just trusted it as it helped them evade the marines. Robin actually managed to notice when they were about to be betrayed a few times as well, noticing people's behavior. One day though, they are unable to escape them again._

 _Chris was fifteen and stood five feet and six inches tall while Robin was fourteen, four foot nine and she now had shoulder length hair. He was wearing a dark blue shirt and gray pants and she wore a purple shirt and a blue short skirt._

* * *

Chris and Robin were running through an alley as they tried to escape from the marines chasing them. As they ran, Chris heard a dull thud behind him. Looking over his shoulder, he saw two arms sprouting out of two marines. The arms had pulled the two men together, making them headbutt each other. They fell to the ground unconscious and tripping the others.

Returning his attention ahead of him, he saw that the alley split in different directions. Glancing to his left, Chris said, "Robin, we're going to separate up ahead. They will most likely split their forces to catch both of us. I'll lose the ones that come after me and catch up with you, OK?"

Robin nodded and when they reached the split, she went left and Chris went right. Just as he figured, the marines divided their forces to chase both of them.

Chris eventually exited the alley and turned left before continuing to run. He could hear the marines still chasing him as he spotted another alley, he darted down it and ran as fast as he could, hoping it was a certain kind of alley. After turning around a corner, he was happy to find that is was. The alley ended in a dead end. Even if the marines knew about his Devil Fruit abilities they wouldn't know how to find him. So, before the marines chasing him caught up, he quickly changed into wind and flew out of the alley and started looking for Robin. He went back to where they had split up and went down the way she had gone. He froze and his heart nearly stopped at what he saw. One of the marines had gotten ahold of Robin and had her hands cuffed in front of her. What really worried him was the pistol pressed against her head as he held her. The barrier would be absolutely useless with the muzzle so close.

The marine spoke, "If you're there Wind Demon, you better come quietly or your witch of a friend will not survive." He looked around, trying to find some clue that the boy was there. "Well!?" he shouted.

Chris gritted his teeth, at least he would of had he not been wind. As it was the wind started getting fiercer as he seethed. Robin and the marine lowered their heads as the wind picked up.

"I'd calm down if I were you boy!" the man shouted, cocking the gun. Chris reformed several feet away, his hands in the air and glaring at the marine. "Restrain him!"

Another marine walked up to Chris and pulled his arms in front of him, before clamping a pair of cuffs on his wrists. Immediately, he noticed something didn't feel right.

"I see you've never encountered these cuffs before," the man holding Robin sneered. "Those are made from seastone, something that negates a Devil Fruit users abilities." He smirked wickedly, "That means you won't be getting away from us this time."

 _"I'm glad that my Wind Barrier is self-sustaining. As long as there's air present, it will remain on someone,'_ Chris thought, as he and Robin were silently led to the marine ship.

"We are taking you to Enies Lobby so the two of you can be dealt with quickly," the man in charge said. When they reached the marine ship, they boarded it and were taken to the brig, where they were shoved into cell. "Better get comfortable. It will be at least a couple weeks before we reach our destination."

"Sorry, Chris," Robin apologized, as she sat against the wall. "It's my fault we got caught."

"Hey, don't talk like that," Chris said, sitting next to her. He awkwardly put his arms around her. "It was my idea to split up in the first place. If anything, it's my fault for suggesting we not stay together."

Robin laid her head in the crook of his neck. Ever since that little 'accident' when they had first been betrayed and they had spent so long with each other, they had gotten really close to each other. They weren't really together, but the two had become comfortable performing such actions with each other.

Chris laid his head against hers, and said, "We should probably get some rest." He felt her nod, before he closed his eyes. It didn't take long before he heard Robin's soft breathing, indicating she'd fallen asleep. He felt sleep start to quickly take him as well.

XxX

A disturbance in the air caused Chris to wake up. He looked down at Robin, who was still sleeping peacefully. He smiled and gave her a peck on her forehead before glancing around, unaware of the smile and light blush on Robin's face. Nothing seemed to be wrong, besides the fact they were in a cell. He listened to the wind running through the ship and that's when he noticed something. It was unusually quiet. Even if it was night, there would be people keeping lookout and he would hear their footsteps.

Just as this realization hit him, he suddenly did hear it. Footsteps, heading in their direction. Chris tensed slightly as he waited for whoever was walking down the stairs. Eventually a man entered the room, however, he wasn't a marine. He stood as tall as the cell door and wore a white shirt that was slightly unbuttoned at the top and tucked into his brown pants and had a black cape wrapped around his shoulders. He wore a straw hat over his red hair.

The man looked into the cell and smiled widely, "Aw, isn't that cute."

Fighting the blush on his cheeks, Chris demanded, "Who are you?"

He chuckled, "Easy there kid. We managed to learn that the marines had caught you two. 'Wind Demon' Chris and 'Devil Child' Robin."

"And what do you want from us?" Robin asked, startling the two. She opened her eyes to look at the man and arched a brow at him.

"What do I want?" the man repeated, before chuckling again. "I don't _want_ anything. Personally, I don't buy what the marines have said about the two of you, so I'm breaking you out of here." As he said that, he grabbed the cell doors and, to their shock, ripped it off of its hinges. He tossed the door behind him and gestured to the two. "Come on."

"You know that the keys were on the table behind you right?" Robin asked, as Chris lifted his arms so she could stand.

The red haired man glanced behind him and saw the keys exactly where she said they were. He turned back to the two and smiled sheepishly. This got a soft laugh from the two.

"Well, you are certainly different," Chris said. "So, would you mind telling us who you are?"

"Shanks," he answered. "Captain of the Red Hair Pirates."

They both frowned. "We've had quite a few pirates turn us into the marines to try and get their bounties nullified or for them to at least leave them alone for a while, you'll have to excuse us if we aren't exactly trusting of you," Chris said.

Much to their surprise, Shanks just laughed, "Such is the life of a pirate. Though if the ones you had the misfortune of meeting couldn't handle the heat, they shouldn't have become pirates." He grabbed the keys, before saying, "Come on and let me get those off you."

"I'm not sure those are the right keys," Robin said. At seeing his confused look, she explained, "These are seastone handcuffs. The marine in charge has them most likely in case we somehow got out."

"Oh, so that's what this key is for?" he questioned, fishing a key out of his pocket. He put the key in keyhole and unlocked Robin's cuffs. He then did the same for Chris. "Glad I decided to grab it. I don't think I'd be able to remember who was in charge. He had a pretty forgettable face."

Chris snorted, while Robin giggled. "You are pretty easy going aren't you?" he questioned.

Shanks shrugged, "What's the point of worrying over everything?" He jabbed his thumb over his shoulder and asked, "You coming?"

"As the alternative is staying and being taken to someplace called Enies Lobby, yes we will," Robin stated, mildly.

As she passed the red haired man, he stared after her for a moment before saying, "She's an interesting woman."

Chris chuckled a little as he walked passed, "I hope you aren't expecting us to join your crew."

"Nah, like I said, I don't believe the crap the marines wrote about you two so I'm just helping you out. Even if she is an archaeologist at such a young age, her wanting to destroy the world just sounds ridiculous," Shanks said, following them.

"And what about me?" he asked.

"Well, at first I didn't believe it, but the fact that you have seastone cuffs on you tells me that you have Devil Fruit abilities. So, you could very well have destroyed at least one ship. I think they're still exaggerating though," he answered.

Chris glanced back and grinned slightly, "They weren't."

Shanks paused, "What?"

"They were not exaggerating. I created seven tornadoes and sent them to destroy the ships," he told him.

Shanks started to sweat slightly, "And why may I ask did you do that?"

"That's something that Robin will have to explain," Chris said. "While it was me that destroyed them, it mainly involves her and I won't reveal anything without her permission." When they reached the deck, Chris was surprised to see all of the marines on the ground and that they were only knocked out.

The red haired pirate nodded, "Of course. If it's something personal I won't push on the matter."

They started to board the pirate's ship and the blue haired boy said, "You really are different from other pirates. Most of them demanded to know what happened. Only when I threatened them did they drop it."

"Well, you won't have to worry about that with us," Shanks said. "We don't necessarily care what happened unless what they said was true, but as I said, I don't believe it."

"Good. Because besides the fact that she's an archaeologist, the rest is bullshit," Chris said, growling slightly.

When they got on the ship's deck, the crew paused when they saw their Captain and the boy. After a second they all started laughing.

Shanks arched a brow, "What?"

"Red and blue!" a dirty blonde haired man guffawed. "We just need someone with bright blonde hair and you'd be a real color trio!"

"Real funny, Yasopp," Shanks said, though he was smirking. Chris just rolled his eyes, a small smile on his face, honestly expecting it when he saw the man had red hair.

"They certainly are more lively than the other pirates we've met," Robin said, walking up to the two.

"Sure seems that way," Chris agreed.

"Alright you guys!" Shanks called out. "We freed Chris and Robin, so let's head out!"

The whole crew cheered, except for one man that stood of to the right. Chris studied the man. He looked like he was taller than Shanks and wore a black v-neck shirt, green pants, and a yellow sash and was smoking a cigarette.

He walked up to the man and said, "You seem rather different than the rest of the crew."

The man glanced at the boy and smirked slightly, "Someone has to have some sense on this ship."

Chris chuckled as he watched everyone get ready to set off.

* * *

 _A month had passed since Chris and Robin had been rescued by the Red Hair Pirates and to their slight surprise, but great relief, they never once seemed interested in turning them into the marines. They even protected them when a group of marines that tried to arrest them when they figured out who they were._

* * *

"Besides the constant little parties and some fights, it's been rather peaceful," Chris said.

"It really has," Robin said. "It feels almost to good to be true."

"You two have really had a tough life huh?" they turned to see Shanks approaching them.

"You have no idea," Chris muttered. "We've spent the last six years being betrayed by those we thought were helping us and avoiding the marines."

Shanks scowled, "Damn marines. I'll admit that there are some who are decent people, but the system itself is pretty corrupt."

"Not surprising considering what happened," Chris murmured to himself. He turned to the Captain. "I would like to make a request Shanks."

"Oh?" he asked, curiously.

"Would you train me in wielding a sword?"

Shanks blinked in surprise. "I don't see why not, but why the sudden interest?"

"Well, for one, I think having more than one fighting style would be useful. Second, if I fought with a sword from the beginning, my opponent might think that I'm not good at hand-to-hand combat and try to disarm me," Chris explained.

"And they would be in for one nasty surprise if they did," Shanks said with a smile, understanding his thinking. He nodded, "Sure, I'll be happy to show you how to sword fight." One of the crew members tossed a sword to Chris, who caught it, before unsheathing it and getting ready to train.


	4. Chapter 4

_Two years passed since Chris and Robin had been saved by Shanks and the two had grown a good amount. Robin had grown to five feet tall. She was wearing a black v-neck shirt, that showed a little of her developing chest, and black pants. Chris was now five foot eight. He wore a shirt similar to when they met the pirates, but was now wearing jeans._

* * *

"You've come a long way since we started, Chris. There's something I want to give you," Shanks said, exiting his quarters. He walked up to the blue haired young man and held out a sword. It was in a dark green sheath with a rounded cross-shaped guard and dark blue handle.

Chris took the sword and unsheathed it to look at it. The back of the sword was green while the actual blade was light green with a blue wavy hamon, kind of like wind.

"This is a Great Grade Sword and it is called Arekuruu Kaze, or Raging Wind," Shanks told him. "Rather fitting for you to wield it don't you think?" He drew his saber and said, "How about we test it out?"

Chris and Shanks went to the opposite sides of the deck of the ship and were quickly surrounded by the Red Hair crew. They both faced each other, weapons at the ready. Chris moved first, swinging his sword straight down. Shanks easily deflected the blow and slashed sideways, making the him jump backwards. He pressed the attack by charging and stabbing forward. Chris swung his sword upward, parrying the strike. He quickly brought his sword down at an angle, slashing at the Captain and forcing him to jump back. The two stared at each other for a second before charging forward and clashing with their swords. Chris was sent skidding backward from Shanks' strength.

Chris straightened, before charging again. He jumped up with his sword raised. Shanks raised his saber to block the attack, but Chris turned into wind and got behind the Captain before reforming. He swung his sword, however Shanks managed to block the strike.

"Not bad," Shanks said with a grin. "You'd probably get a good number of people with a move like that. Just not me!" he exclaimed, spinning around pushing his saber forward effectively knocking Chris back.

Robin was watching the fight from the upper deck as she leaned against the railing. She glanced to the side and squinted to make sure she was right in what she was seeing. The crew and the two fighters were so engrossed in their fight that they didn't notice. When she realized it was heading toward them, she spoke up.

"You might want to wrap it up boys," she called out.

Everyone looked at her and saw she was looking out at the ocean. They all followed her gaze and their eyes widened. Sailing towards them was a giant ship that had a white whale figurehead.

"Whitebeard," Shanks said.

"What should we do!?" one of the crew yelled.

"Stay where we are!" Shanks ordered. "If they were here to fight they would have attacked already."

Eventually the ship pulled alongside the Red Hair's ship. Someone walked to the edge of the boat. He was a giant of a man. He wore a white coat with a maroon inside and yellow edges, had a white captains hat and tan pants. He had long blonde hair, a crescent shaped white mustache, and several scars on his chest. A huge bisento was in his grasp.

"You don't mind if I come aboard do ya, Red Hair?" Whitebeard called down.

"I suppose not," Shanks said. Whitebeard jumped over the railing of his ship and fell toward Shanks' at an alarming rate. "What the hell!? Are you trying to destroy my ship Whitebeard!?" he shouted at the man.

Acting quickly Chris caused a strong gust where the huge man was going to land. When he reached the deck, his landing was cushioned by the wind. Whitebeard, not expecting such a gentle landing, glanced up in slight confused.

Shanks sighed in relief, "Thanks Chris. I don't know if our ship could handle him landing on it as heavily as he was going to."

"Sure thing," he said. He looked up and noticed Whitebeard's hair. "Hey Yasopp!" he called, pointing at the big man's blonde hair. "You were saying?" The sniper sweatdropped, while a great number of the crew and Shanks started laughing.

Whitebeard arched a brow, "What are you talking about boy?"

"When we saved Chris here from the marines, Yasopp made a comment about all we needed was someone with blonde hair to make us a color trio," Shanks explained, lifting his hat briefly, showing his red hair then pointing to the young man's blue hair.

"Gurarara," Whitebeard laughed. "That's an interesting observation."

"So, why are you here?" Shanks asked, getting down to business.

"I'm looking for someone I heard that you rescued. The 'Devil Child' Nico Robin," he said. Immediately, Chris was in front of the man and slashed at him with his newly acquired sword. Whitebeard easily blocked the attack with his bisento. "What do you think you are doing, brat?"

"We've had our fair share of people wanting to turn her into the marines. I will protect her and keep that from happening," Chris stated.

Whitebeard laughed again, "You're a spirited brat that's for sure." He swung his weapon forward, knocking Chris backwards. "But you can calm down, 'Wind Demon' Chris. I'm not here for anything like that."

Chris paused and stared at the man, before he could say anything Robin spoke up.

"What do you want with me then?"

He looked over to the young woman before approaching her. "I have something that I want to let you know," he said. "Ohara still stands."

Robin and Chris' eyes widened in shock. He quickly moved to Robin's side. "Are you serious?" he asked.

"Very," he stated. "After hearing some rumors about Ohara, I went to check it out. It took a while since we were quite a ways away. When we reached it, we saw that it practically destroyed, but it is there and the giant tree still stood."

"The Tree of Knowledge is still standing?" Robin questioned, misty-eyed.

"Yes, it is. And I met a good number of archaeologists there," Whitebeard said.

"Did you see my mother? Is she alive? And what about Clover?" she asked, pleadingly.

Whitebeard frowned slightly, making her fear the worst, but he partially alleviated her fears when he said, "I didn't meet your mother, but Clover is fine. I talked with him and he asked me to tell you that he and the other archaeologists were alive and well," he told her.

As Robin placed a hand over her mouth as tears started forming in her eyes, Chris wondered about Olvia. He was sure that she went to the Tree of Knowledge with Clover, so if he was alive then she most likely survived as well. And if she hadn't he was fairly sure that Clover would have Whitebeard tell her she had passed away. No matter how much it hurt, she would have to know. As such, Chris was confident she had survived.

 _'I doubt she would have stayed there because she's wanted by the marines, even though they probably think she's dead, and she wants to find her daughter again as soon as possible,'_ Chris figured. _'Clover probably didn't want to get her hopes up with how big the world is and how dangerous it can be.'_

"There's one more thing," Whitebeard said, regaining their attention. "I've placed the island under my protection. No one, not even the marines, will try anything now." This statement sent her over the edge and she jumped at him, wrapping her arms around his neck in a hug. Pretty much everyone, even Whitebeard himself, was taken aback by the action. The only one not surprised was Chris, who just smiled happily.

"Thank you," Robin whispered, tears starting to form in her eyes.

Getting over his shock, Whitebeard chuckled slightly, "It's nothing kid. The marines went to far with what they did and it wasn't 'justice' in the slightest." He then bent down, letting Robin touch the deck before she let go.

"Do you want us to take you back?" Shanks offered.

Robin shook her head, "I don't think that would be a good idea."

"Why not?" Yasopp asked, confused.

Chris spoke up, "I'm pretty sure that if we went back, the marines would attack, Whitebeard be damned." He glanced at the man, "No offense meant."

Whitebeard just grinned, before turning to the Red Hair's Captain, "Well, I told I was asked to relay. See ya later, Red Hair." He turned back his ship and bent his knees before jumping up. He grabbed the railing of his ship and pulled himself on board and they started sailing away.

Soon, the Moby Dick was out of sight. Chris and Robin stood at the stern of the ship to have a little privacy.

"I can hardly believe it," Robin said. "Clover and the other archaeologists are alive."

"It's incredible news," Chris said. He wrapped an arm around her, "I'm happy for you."

"Thanks," she said, a smile on her face. She paused and started to think about how close she and Chris had become to each other and all the things they had been through together. She thought about how she felt for him and realized that her feelings had changed since they had met. "Chris?"

He turned to her, "Yeah?"

"There's something I want to tell you," she said, a slight blush on her face. He looked down at her curiously. She gazed into his eyes before saying, "The years we spent avoiding the marines, while horrible, I've been able to get through them because you were there. I don't know what would have happened to me or what it would have been like if I was alone."

Chris smiled, "I'm glad I that I landed on your island when I did and that I was able to help you with the things you had to go through. I will also continue to do so as long as you wish me to."

Robin felt warmth fill her at his words. "I'm glad you feel that way because I have a confession." She swallowed before gathering her courage and saying, "I love you."

Chris' eyes widened and his face reddened. He gazed at her before smiling warmly. He leaned his head down and gave her a peck on the lips, surprising her. "I feel the same way," he confessed. "I have grown to care about you more than just a friend. I love you too, Robin."

Robin's heart soared and she pulled him into a proper kiss. The world around them ceased to matter as their lips met, her arms wrapped around his neck and his arms around her hips. They eventually parted, placing their foreheads against each others.

"That was amazing," Chris said.

"It was," she said, a warm smile on her face. They stayed in each other's embrace, as they continued to sail across the ocean.

* * *

 _Two years passed since Robin learned that her friends and the island she grew up on were actually safe. Since confessing to each other, she and Chris had only gotten closer and spend as much time together as they were able to. On the second year, they found themselves in in the East Blue. Before they got to the East Blue they had to sail to the Reverse Mountain. Chris and Robin were very shocked to find out that they had to sail up the mountain._

* * *

Chris was sitting on the tip of the ship's mast, looking out across the ocean. The last four years, especially the two recent ones, had been the exact opposite of their first six years. After confessing to each other, he and Robin had been even more inseparable than before. They even slept in the same bed, snuggled into each other. The only times they weren't together was when one was in the restroom for whatever reason.

Something in the distance caught his attention. He jumped down to crows nest below him and grabbed the telescope. Looking through it, he saw an island.

He looked over the edge of the crows nest and shouted, "There's an island up ahead!"

The shout got the crews attention and they started to head toward the island. It didn't take long for them to reach the island and lower the gangplank onto the dock. Shanks, Yasopp, Ben, Lucky Roo, Chris and Robin all disembarked and entered a quaint little village.

As they walked, Chris and Robin were slightly surprised when the villagers only seemed curious about the pirates that had landed on their island. While it was true that not everyone panicked when they saw pirates, most were at least weary of them, but these people weren't.

They soon came to a building with a sign that said 'Partys Bar'. Shanks grinned at the sign, before turning to Chris. "You mind telling the men to come ashore and lead them here?" he asked.

"Sure," he nodded. He gave Robin a peck on the cheek, "Be back in a minute." He started heading back to the ship. When he returned, he boarded and yelled, "Hey guys!" They all turned to him. "Shanks said you can come ashore. Follow me to where he's at." Everyone stopped what they were doing and followed him into the village. When they saw where he was leading them, they ran ahead of him. Chris rolled his eyes before walking inside, but paused when he saw the crew was practically in full party mode. "How the hell?" He felt someone take his hand and turned to Robin.

"Shanks had already ordered alcohol for everyone so it didn't take long for them to get like this," she explained.

"Ah," he said. He looked around the bar and saw Shanks sitting at the bar, a young boy sitting next to him with stars in his eyes. He had raven hair and wore a white shirt with the picture an anchor as well as the word on the front, blue shorts, and sandals. "Who's the kid?"

Robin smiled as she led him to the bar, "His name is Monkey D. Luffy. He's an enthusiastic boy who has been enraptured by the tales Shanks is telling him about the adventures of him and his crew."

He looked behind the bar and saw a young woman with dark green hair and brown eyes. She wore a yellow kerchief wrapped around her head, an orange blouse with black sleeves and black lines criss crossing across it, and a long light blue skirt.

She smiled, "Hello, my name's Makino."

"Hello, Makino. I'm Chris," he said.

"You're Chris?"

He looked down at the boy. "Yes, I am. Why?"

"Shanks told me that you and someone named Robin weren't part of his crew even though you have been traveling with him," he said. "How come?"

Robin placed her elbow on the counter before resting her head in her hand and said, "First, I'm Robin. It's nice to meet you Luffy. Second, it was Shanks' idea. He saved us from some marines and decided to let us do what we wanted. We could have stayed at one of the islands we visited if we wanted, but none of them really felt right and joining him didn't really feel right either."

"Oh," was all the boy said, not completely understanding what she meant by 'right'.

* * *

 **A week later…**

Chris, Shanks and his crew were having a great time in the Partys Bar while Robin watched them in amusement.

"Lively as usual," Makino said, smiling.

Robin giggled, "Indeed."

"Hey, Shanks," Luffy said. "Take me on your next voyage. I want to be a pirate too!"

Shanks laughed, "You!? As if you could make it as a pirate."

"Why not!?" the boy shouted.

"Just because you good at swimming doesn't mean you would make a good pirate, Luffy," Yasopp said.

"I'm good at fighting too! My punches are like pistols!" Luffy exclaimed.

Chris chuckled as Shanks uninterestedly said, "Oh, really?"

"What's that mean!?" Luffy yelled angrily.

"He means that you're too much of a kid Luffy!" Lucky Roo answered.

"Seriously, you're as old as my own kid!" Yasopp said.

"I'm not a kid! I'm a grownup!"

"Easy Luffy. Don't get so angry," Shanks placated, placing a glass in front of the boy. "Here you go. Have some juice."

"Cool! Thank you Shanks," Luffy said, starting to drink.

"See! You are a kid! Ha!" Shanks said, as he started slapping the counter.

"That wasn't fair Shanks!" Luffy yelled. The whole crew started laughing loudly. Hearing their laughter, Luffy shouted, "Don't laugh! Stupid Shanks!"

Chris chuckled and Robin giggled at the two's antics, while Makino just smiled as she watched them. Chris suddenly frowned, which didn't go unnoticed.

"That feeling again?" Robin asked, getting everyone's attention.

"Yeah," he answered. He glanced at Shanks, "Some troublesome people are about to show up."

Just as he said that, one of tne of the doors were kicked off of its hinges, causing everyone to look at the entrance in silence.

"Pardon us," a sleazy voice spoke up. The man entered, saying, "Oh… So these are 'pirates'. You look pretty damn dumb." He stepped on the door, smashing it.

As he approached, Chris got a good look at the man. He was tall, dark-skinned man with black hair, a black goatee, and an X-shaped scar above his right eye. He was wearing a long red coat over a white shirt, black trousers, and a golden necklace. Men started entering behind him, all of them wearing tan shirts and cloths wrapped around their heads.

When he reached the bar, Makino walked over to him, "Welcome."

"We're mountain bandits," the man said, a nasty smile on his face. "However, we aren't here to tear the place up. Sell us some booze. Ten barrels oughta do."

"I'm sorry. I just ran out of alcohol," she apologized.

"That's odd. These pirates seem to be drinking something… What is it, water?" the man questioned, frowning.

"No, what they are drinking is the last of it," Makino said.

"My apologies," Shanks spoke up. "Looks like we drank the whole place dry. Sorry." He held out a bottle, "You can have this, if you'd like. It hasn't been opened he yet."

The bandit raised his hand as if to take it, when he suddenly swung his fist, smashing the bottle and soaking Shanks. Makino gasped, while Chris narrowed his eyes and placed a hand on his sword. Robin kept an eye on the other bandits, ready to take them all out if she needed to.

"There's an 8 million beli bounty on my head, you know," the man said arrogantly. "One bottle ain't even enough for a bedtime drink! Don't insult me!"

Chris held back a snort and Robin fought the smile that threatened to spread across her face. This bandit acting all high and mighty because he has a bounty. Shanks seemed completely unconcerned as he just looked down with a frown.

"Ah, now the floor's all wet," he said. "Sorry about that Makino. Do you have a rag?" He bent down and started picking up the broken pieces of glass.

"Oh, I'll do that," she said, running around the counter.

Before she reached Shanks, the bandit leader drew his sword and slashed it across the counter. However, Chris blocked it with his own sword, glaring at the bandit.

He glared right back, "And what do you think you're doing?"

"Keeping you from making a bigger mess and damaging a hard working woman's business," Chris said.

He scoffed before sheathing his sword, "This isn't worth our time if they are out of booze. Let's go!" He turned around and started to leave, "Later wimps."

Luffy was gritting his teeth and glared at the retreating man. It was silent until Makino knelt down to Shanks.

"Are you alright, Captain?" she asked. "Are you hurt?"

"Oh I'm fine. No problem at all," he said, nonchalantly. _*Pfft*_

Everyone immediately started laughing their heads off. Robin arched a brow and Chris looked at them in confusion.

"He got you good, boss!" Yasopp laughed out.

"Talk about lame!" someone shouted.

Shanks began laughing as well, completely ignoring that he was soaked in alcohol.

"Why are you laughing!?" Luffy shouted, silencing everyone and causing them to stare at him in shock. "That was so uncool! Why didn't you fight them!? Why was Chris the only one to do something and even then he didn't do much! No matter how many there are or how strong they seem, you're not men - or pirates - if you laugh after something like that!"

Shanks stared at him for a moment before saying, "I can understand how you feel, but he only spilled some beer on me, Luffy. It's not something that's worth getting angry about."

"Whatever!" Luffy yelled, turning away. He glanced at a chest with a purple fruit in it. Unbeknownst to the others, he grabbed the fruit and started eating it.

"Eating out of frustration Luffy?" Shanks asked, chuckling.

"Shut up!"

Shanks eyes widened slightly as he realized something. "Wait, what are you eating!?" he yelled frantically. Luffy swallowed what was in his mouth and looked at Shanks worriedly. "That box! Did you eat what was in that box!?"

"Y-Yeah..," he answered reluctantly.

Shanks grabbed the boy and held him by his ankles before he started shaking him. "Spit it out! Right now! Every last bit you took!" he shouted.

"W-What are you doing Shanks?!" Luffy exclaimed.

Suddenly, Luffy hit the floor as his legs stretched out. Everyone stared at the boy in shock. His legs slowly retracted and he stared at Shanks, stunned.

"What… was that?" he questioned, unsure of what had happened.

 _'A Devil Fruit!'_ Chris and Robin thought at the same time.

Shanks lifted Luffy so that they were eye level with each other. "What you ate was the Gum-Gum Fruit!" he shouted. "It's what is known as a Devil Fruit! Eating it turned your body into rubber and makes you lose the ability to swim for the rest of your life!"

Luffy stared, stunned before yelling, "Eh!? No way!"

"You idiot!"

XxX

 **The next day...**

The Red Hair pirates as well as Chris and Robin, were heading to the bar again. They always had a great time there, so they were returning again. Once they reached it however, they saw that it was empty and everything was in disarray. Tables and chairs were knocked over and a few were broken, there were several tipped over and shattered mugs, dishes scattered everywhere and spills all over.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Chris said.

"As do I," Robin said.

"Let's go see if we can't find everyone," Shanks said and they left the building.

They started walking and saw Makino and an older man rush passed them. They must have been in a hurry as they didn't even notice them. They all decided to follow the two. Once they caught up they saw the older man on his knees bowing to the bandits from yesterday. Under the bandit leader's foot was Luffy.

Chris and Robin narrowed their eyes at the man. Neither of them liking the way they were treating the boy.

"Stay calm you two," Shanks spoke up. "Don't lose your cool or Luffy may end up getting hurt." Robin nodded as Chris took a deep breath. "Alright let's go," he said, when they'd calmed down.

They walked up as soon as the bandit had drawn his sword and placed it near Luffy's face.

"Luffy!" Makino shouted in worry.

"Please let him go!" the older man pleaded.

"I was wondering why the bar was empty, looks like it's those mountain bandits from before," Shanks said, calmly.

"Captain!" Makino exclaimed in surprise.

"So you pirates are still here, huh?" the bandit said, derogatorily. "Have you been scrubbing the village clean this whole time?"

"Luffy!" Shanks said, completely ignoring the taunting man. "I thought your punches were as strong as pistols."

"Shut up!" Luffy yelled, as the Captain started walking forward.

"I dunno why you're here, but you'd best leave before you get hurt," the man said. "Any closer and he'll shoot your head off wimp."

One of the bandits stood next to Shanks and pointed a pistol at his head. "He said no closer," the bandit said. "Don't make me blow your head off." The bandit leader and the other bandits smirked in triumph.

"Put your life on the line," Shanks suddenly said.

"What!?" the bandit intelligently questioned.

"Now that you've drawn your pistol, put your life on the line," the Captain elaborated.

"What the hell're you talkin' about?" the man demanded.

Shanks pointed at the weapon and said, "I'm saying those aren't for threatening people."

There was a bang and the bandit was flung to the side as Lucky Roo shot him with his own pistol, while still munching on a piece of meat. Makino and the old man looked at them in shock. The bandits immediately started complaining that they were fighting dirty.

Chris scoffed and Robin crossed her arms before saying, "Bandits are complaining about someone fighting dirty when you are picking on a child?"

"You're looking at pirates!" Shanks said.

"Shut up!" one of the bandits suddenly shouted. "You got nothin' to do with this in the first place."

 _'They are either blind or stupid if they didn't realize that the kid was in the bar with everyone yesterday,'_ Chris thought.

"Listen bandits," Shanks started. "Whether I'm splattered with alcohol or food or even spit on, I'll normally laugh it off and forget about it. But!" He looked up and glared at the bandits, "No matter the reason, anyone who hurts my friends will pay!"

Luffy stared at Shanks, shocked by his words.

The bandit leader started laughing, "Has to pay, huh!? Lousy pirates! Kill them men!" The bandits drew their weapons and charged forward.

Ben grabbed his rifle, "I'll handle this. Should be easy enough."

"Hang on Ben," Shanks spoke, causing the man to pause. "Let's see how well Chris can use his sword against multiple opponents."

"Alright," Ben said, stepping back.

"Chris," the Captain said, gesturing at the charging bandits.

"OK. It will give me a chance to try something I've been practicing," he said, drawing his sword. He covered his blade and legs in wind. He then crouched down before jumping forward, his wind covered legs propelling him forward, and slashed his sword. He appeared on the other side of the bandits, his sword raised. As he started to sheath his weapon, he said, **"Gale of Blades."**

Suddenly wind surrounded around half of the bandits, which started cutting them all over their bodies. When the wind died, the cut up bandits fell to the ground, severely injured and a few probably dead. Everyone stared in shock, except the pirates who looked impressed.

Before the remaining bandits could react, arms sprouted from their shoulders and the back of their knees before grabbing their chins and ankles. They pulled, causing them to fall to the ground.

 **"Veinte Fleur,"** Robin said, her arms crossed. **"Clutch,"** she clenched her hands and loud pops sounded from the bandits and they laid on the ground completely still. Several people winced at the sound.

"Nice one, Chris, Robin," Shanks complemented with a grin.

The bandit started looking around in a panic before saying, "H-Hold on! The kid attacked us!"

"You _are_ a wanted man," Shanks said, practically smirking.

"Damn it!" the man yelled before suddenly throwing something on the ground causing a black smoke to fill the area.

"A smokescreen," Shanks exclaimed. Chris quickly caused a gust of wind to blow the smoke way, but the bandit leader had already disappeared, along with Luffy. "Luffy!" he yelled. He quickly began panicking, "Crap! I let my guard down! Luffy's gone!" He turned to his crew, "What should we do guys!?"

"Quit freakin' out boss!" Lucky Roo chastised. "It won't take us long to find him!" Before anything else could be said, the panicking man took off.

Chris sweatdropped while Robin giggled. "He always do that in this kind of situation?" he asked Ben.

The man smirked, "If you mean panicking then yes, he does."

 _'He goes from happy-go-lucky to serious to panicking,'_ Chris thought. _'What the hell is up with him? In the four years we've been with him I've never seen him act like this.'_

XxX

It only took a couple hours before Luffy was found. Shanks had saved him from not only drowning, but kept a sea king from eating him. What shocked everyone was that Shanks sacrificed his left arm to do it.

After dressing Shanks' wound and a day of rest, the Red Hair pirates were on the dock, preparing to depart from the island. Chris, Robin, Luffy, and Shanks were standing at the top of the stairs of the dock.

"You're leaving then?" Luffy questioned, a smile on his face.

"Yeah," Shanks said. "It was a long stay, but now we part ways. Bet you'll miss me, huh?"

"Well, yeah, but I won't ask you to take me anymore," he said. "I've decided to become a pirate on my own now!"

Shanks stuck out his tongue, "Bleh! I wasn't gonna take you anyway. You'll never be a pirate!"

"I will too!" Luffy shouted. "Someday, I'm gonna gather a crew every bit as good as yours, and I'm going to find the greatest treasure in the world, and I'm going to be King of the Pirates! I'll show you!"

"You're going to surpass us, huh?" Shanks questioned, a smile on his face. "In that case," he reached up and took his straw hat off before placing it on Luffy's head. "I'll leave this hat with you. It's very important to me. Take good care of it."

Luffy couldn't stop the tears from streaming down his face at Shanks' gesture.

The Captain turned to Chris and Robin, "What about you two?"

Chris glanced at Robin, who nodded at him. "We are going to stay here," he answered. "I think it would be nice to stay in one place for a while. And, depending on what kind of person he grows into, we might just join Luffy here when he sets out to be a pirate."

They both looked shocked at this. After a moment, Shanks smiled, "I see. Well, I hope to see you two again someday along with Luffy." He then dropped a bag that was half the size of Luffy.

"What's that?" Chris asked.

"It's beli of course," Shanks said. "You guys will need something to at least get you started."

They smiled and Chris picked the bag up. "Thanks, Shanks. For everything," he said.

"Yes, thank you," Robin said, giving the man a hug.

"It's nothing. I'll see you guys later," the Red Hair Captain said, returning the hug. With that, he boarded his ship and they all set sail.

When they were out of sight, Luffy turned to the two who had stayed. "Are you really going to become part of my crew?" he asked hopefully.

"Like I said, Luffy, we'll see what kind of person you grow up to be and we'll decide then," Chris told him.

The boy still smiled happily, confident he already had two of his crew members.

Before Makino led him back into the village, Chris asked, "Makino, Luffy. I would appreciate it if you didn't tell any marines about us."

She smiled, "Of course. You two seem like nice people, I won't let them arrest the two of you."

"Same here!" Luffy exclaimed.

"Thanks," Chris said, as they started heading back.

When they were gone, Robin said, "I get the feeling that we will be joining him on his adventures."

"It does feel that way," he agreed. They stood at the docks for another minute before heading back as well and talk to the mayor about housing.


	5. Chapter 5

_**First off, sorry for those who didn't want them to join Luffy, but I really like him, his crew, and the adventures they go on. Plus, I doubt I could come up with adventures myself. Maybe one or two (though I wouldn't get my hopes up), but with how long One Piece is, no way.**_

 _ **Second, I think I'm going to skip what happens with Ace and Sabo. As Chris is a big focus of this story, I don't know how I would get him involved in Luffy's introduction to the two. Especially since they lived in the mountain.**_

 _ **(Also, in case anyone's wondering, though I doubt it, Chris' laugh isn't anything distinctive like most of the characters of One Piece. It's normal like Luffy's and no I'm not talking about that 'Shishishi' he does when he snickers I mean when he full blown laughs.)**_

* * *

 **10 years later…**

Chris and Robin were sitting in a small boat that was big enough to carry three people and had two barrels, one twice as wide as the other and slightly taller than a sword, filled with provisions on it, as they waited for Luffy. He was saying goodbye to the Dadan Family, a group of mountain bandits that took care of him when he was small. Why were bandits taking care of a child? Luffy's grandfather, Vice-Admiral Monkey D. Garp, convinced them to do it. The man could apparently be very intimidating.

"I'm still kind of surprised they got along so well with each other," Chris said. He was now 29 and stood at six foot eight. He wore a dark blue T-shirt and black pants, his sword hanging from his sword sash.

"Yes, it is rather surprising," Robin agreed. She was 28 and stood six feet and two inches tall. She was wearing purple leather pants and jacket with a white undershirt that stopped at her midriff and, interestingly, a purple cowboy hat.

They were interrupted when they heard Luffy's distinct laugh and the boat rocking violently as he jumped into it. He was seventeen and now wore a red vest and blue shorts with his straw hat.

"Be careful Luffy!" Chris exclaimed, as he held onto the sides of the boat. "All three of us have Devil Fruit powers. You want to kill us before we even head out!? I thought that Robin and I managed to teach you at least a little common sense." _'The fact that we had to teach him common sense is very worrying,'_ he thought. _'So what does it say about him, and us, that we are still following him?'_

Luffy grinned sheepishly, "Sorry."

"You're just lucky we're still at port and the villagers would have saved us," Chris said.

"Oh, leave him alone Chris," Robin said, smiling, not even looking frazzled at potentially being thrown overboard. "He's just excited to finally set out."

"Doesn't mean he should drown us because of it," he countered, though he had slight smile on his face.

"You guys sure you don't want to take a larger ship?" one of the villagers asked.

"Yeah, that's going to sink pretty easily," another one said.

"This is fine! This is what I wanna start with," Luffy said.

"You are a strange man Luffy," Chris said, with a smile while Robin giggled.

"Shishishi," Luffy snickered before facing the ocean. He took a deep breath before yelling, "Sabo! Watch over me! I'm gonna go out to sea now!" Chris and Robin smiled sadly, Luffy had told them about the young boy he considered a brother along with Ace another of his brothers. Apparently some bastard that was something called a Celestial Dragon killed him while he was setting sail when they were arriving at Goa Kingdom. They had only met Ace when the boy set out on his journey. "Sabo was first, then Ace was second," he said, putting a hand on his hat. "And I'm third, but I'm going to top them! Wait for me Ace!" He then raised his hands over his head, "I'll catch up with you soon!"

"Why are you yelling and mumbling to yourself?" one of the islanders asked. "Is it some kind of incantation?"

Luffy looked back, "No it's not. It's a challenge!" The villagers glanced at each other in confusion, none of them except for Makino and the mayor knowing who Ace was. "Alright, we're going now!" he said as he waved. He and Chris grabbed an oar and started rowing.

"See ya guys!" Chris shouted over his shoulder.

"Goodbye Makino," Robin said to the bartender.

"Take care of yourselves!" Makino and the villagers yelled.

Luffy looked up at the sky as seagull flew over them. "It's such a nice day to set sail," he said, a large smile on his face. Suddenly the seagulls flew away, leaving Luffy slightly confused as a shadow loomed over them. They all turned around to see a huge brown sea creature in front of their boat.

"That thing could probably swallow us in one gulp," Robin said, as if commenting on the weather.

Chris just chuckled, having gotten used to Robin's bluntness, before turning to Luffy. "You got this, Captain?" he asked, with a smile.

Luffy grinned, "Our local sea monster? Yeah." He looked up at the beast, "You don't know who you're messing with. Look at this technique I have been training for ten years." He threw his arm backwards, stretching it to where it almost reached back to the dock. **"Gum-Gum…"** he said, as the creature roared before lunging at them. **"Pistol!"** Luffy yelled, bringing his fist forward and punching the sea king in the face, knocking it back into the ocean, unconscious.

"Nice one Luffy," Chris said.

Luffy rolled his shoulder, "Thanks. Now I think we should start by getting a larger crew. I want at least ten."

"Including or besides me and Chris?" Robin asked.

He placed a hand to his chin and thought for a moment. "Besides. I'd like a decent sized crew. And a pirate flag," he said, grinning. "Alright. Let's go! I'm going to become King of the Pirates!" he declared, raising his arms above his head.

"Well then let's get going," Chris said, as the rubber boy sat down and they started rowing.

Luffy turned the older man, "So, Chris you're my first mate." He nodded at his captain, who turned to Robin, "I don't really know what you would be."

She smiled, "Well, I'm an archaeologist, so I think scholar would be right. I'll also probably chronicle our adventures."

Luffy grinned, "Alright! Let's go!"

XxX

Chris and Luffy rowed for three days and nothing interesting happened. That is until Chris felt a slight change in the wind. Turning around he saw that they had come to a whirlpool they were unable to avoid.

"That's huge!" Luffy yelled.

"Well, that's a dangerous obstacle for a small boat, especially when everyone aboard is a Devil Fruit user," Robin idly commented.

"What should we do?" Chris asked, before he heard one of the barrels being opened. He glanced over to see Luffy climbing into the smaller barrel, the food having long been eaten. "That's your plan?"

"I don't know how else we are going to avoid drowning," he stated.

"Did you even try thinking?" Chris asked, as the boy sealed the barrel. He sighed, before going over to the bigger barrel. "If there was a ship nearby I would use my abilities, but there's no telling when that would happen. So, I guess the barrel it is." He grabbed the length of rope they had brought and tied the two barrels together. He then pried the lid open and helped Robin into it before getting in himself, sitting directly in front of Robin and situating his sword next to himself. He pulled lid back onto the barrel, plunging them into darkness.

"This is an interesting experience," Robin said.

"I'll say. Not even when we were running did we have to resort to this," he muttered. Sighing, he said, "Well, there's no telling how long it will be before we are pulled onto a ship or manage to drift ashore, so might as well get a bit of sleep." He leaned back and closed his eyes, sleep taking him rather quickly.

XxX

Chris was jolted awake when he suddenly found himself and Robin being flung around the barrel as it rolled around. It eventually came to a stop when it ran into something and Chris fell down. Expecting to collide with the wood of the barrel, he was surprised when he felt his head land on something soft. As curious as he was to know why he hit something soft, he stayed still to stop his head from spinning.

"Comfortable?" Robin's amused voice spoke up.

Chris looked up to see a look of amusement on her face with a tinge of pink to her cheeks. He glanced down, his face heating up when he saw his head was in her chest. He bolted up, smacking his head against the barrel.

"Ow," he muttered, rubbing the back of his head.

Robin giggled, before pulling him back down slightly. "Why are you so embarrassed?" she asked, teasingly. "We're this close when we sleep together."

"I'm not usually on you or have my head on your chest," he said, his face still red.

She smirked playfully, "How do you know where you are when you're asleep?"

Chris just smiled and gave her a quick kiss. "Let's find Luffy," he said, pushing the lid off the barrel. He changed into wind to avoid crawling over Robin. When he was out he reformed before turning back and helping her out of the barrel.

Before they could move, they suddenly heard a shout, "I slept great!"

They glanced at each other before chuckling. "Luffy," the two said simultaneously before following where the shout came from.

They heard yelling and began to pick up their pace. They reached an open door just as two men raced out in a panic, dragging an unconscious man behind them. Chris arched a brow before they walked into a kitchen just in time to see Luffy and a young boy with pink hair walk through a pair of doors.

"As usual, he's hungry," Chris said, making Robin giggle.

They walked through the doors to see Luffy stuffing his face with apples as he told the young boy that he and his friends boat was swallowed by the huge whirlpool from earlier. Both of their backs were facing the couple.

"I'm sorry about your friends," the boy said solemnly.

"Why?" Luffy asked, a confused look on his face.

"Wh-What do you mean 'why'?! They're dead aren't they!? No one could survive that giant whirlpool!"

Luffy just laughed, before confidently saying, "Nah, they're fine. They wouldn't let that kill them."

"With a whirlpool that size, we would have very little choice in the matter Luffy, abilities or not," Chris spoke up, causing them to spin around. The boy looked frightened while Luffy was grinning widely.

"Oh! Chris, Robin, there you are!" the rubber boy exclaimed. "Shishishi, it was really surprising to come across that." He pointed to the boy, "This is Coby. Coby, those are my nakama, Chris and Robin."

"Hey," Chris said.

"Hello Coby," Robin greeted.

"H-Hello," Coby stuttered.

"Are you with those guys that ran out of the room like their pants were on fire?" Chris asked, causing Luffy to laugh at the image.

"N-Not really," he said.

He explained to the three that he was trying to go fishing one day and accidentally got in a boat that was owned by the pirates he was with. He'd spent two years with them and in exchange for his life he was forced to be their chore boy.

"Man, you are really stupid," Luffy said bluntly. Chris bonked him on the head.

"We probably should have tried to teach him some tact," he muttered.

Robin giggled, "It probably would have flown over his head more than the common sense lessons. And he might not have even learned what little we managed to actually teach him if we tried."

"Probably," Chris agreed.

"He's brutally honest," Coby said.

"If you don't like it then run away," Luffy said.

Coby started shaking his head furiously, "No way, no way. I can't! Just the thought of what Ms. Alvida would do to me if she found out..."

"Oh so you're a wimp as well? I hate people like you," Luffy stated, laughing. Chris silently agreed with him. He wouldn't say he hated him, but the kid needed to grow a spine if he wanted to get away from this Alvida lady. Meanwhile, Coby started crying anime tears* at his words.

When he stopped he looked at the floor. "Yes… that's right. If only I had the courage to drift the ocean in a barrel."

 _'That wasn't really courage, so much as not giving a damn,'_ Chris thought, sweatdropping.

"There's actually something I want to do, too…" Coby started to say. "Umm, what compelled you to set out to sea, Luffy?"

"I'm gonna be King of the Pirates!" Luffy said with a toothy grin.

The boy's jaw dropped and he stared at Luffy in shock. "K-King of the Pirates!?" he stuttered out.

"That's right," Luffy confirmed.

"Are you serious!?" Coby exclaimed.

"He really is," Chris stated.

"So does that mean you are a pirate, Luffy!?" he said. He turned to the other two, "And you two are as well!?"

"That's right / Indeed / Yep," Chris, Robin, and Luffy answered.

"What about the rest of your crew?" Coby asked.

"It's just these two for now, but I'm looking for others now," Luffy said. After that Coby froze, not moving or anything. Luffy furrowed his brow before waving a hand in front of the boys face.

Coby suddenly stood up, "King of the P-P-Pirates is the title given to the person who obtains everything in this world! That means you are seeking the great treasure of wealth, fame, and power; One Piece!"

"Yep!" Luffy nodded, a wide smile on his face.

"'Yep!?' Pirates all over the world are after that treasure!" the boy yelled.

"I am too!"

"No way! Impossible, impossible! Absolutely impossible!" Coby began babbling. "There's no way you can stand at the apex of this Great Pirate Era!" He was finally silenced when Luffy punched him on the head. "Why did you hit me?" he whined.

"Just because," Luffy said.

"It's fine," Coby said, sadly, sitting up. "I'm used to it by now." He started laughing nervously.

Robin felt a pang of sympathy for the boy. She wasn't sure if she'd be any different if she hadn't had Chris with her when she was Coby's age.

Luffy placed a hand on his hat. "It's not about whether I can or not," he said, making Coby look up in surprise and slight confusion. "I'm gonna do it because I want to." He took the straw hat off and gazed at it, saying determinedly, "I've decided to be the King of the Pirates, so if I die fighting for that, that's fine with me!"

Coby stared at Luffy in amazement at his dedication, while Chris and Robin smiled at him. This was one of the reasons they decided to follow the boy.

"Now then!" Luffy said, starting to head to the door Chris and Robin were standing in front of. "My belly's full- guess we should find a boat. I wonder if they will give us one if I ask. Hopefully they're generous people."

"I wouldn't really count on it Luffy," Chris said, stepping to the side.

"I never once thought about it," Coby suddenly said, causing them to glance back at him. "Do you suppose I could do it too? If I'm prepared to die for it?"

"Do what?" Robin questioned, curiously.

"Do you think… even I could join the marines?" he asked. Chris and Robin frowned, as did Luffy, who was told a few years ago what happened to Robin and her home.

"The marines?" Luffy asked, seriously.

"Yes! Catching bad guys is my dream!" he yelled with determination, slightly surprising the three. "It's been my dream ever since I was little! Do you think I can do it!?"

"How should I know?" Luffy questioned, laughing slightly, his mood lifting after hearing Coby's reason.

"No!" he exclaimed practically interrupting Luffy, a determined look on his face. "I'll do it! If I'm gonna be a chore boy for the rest of my life, then I will break out of here and catch even Ms. Alvi- no Alvida!"

Suddenly, the roof was destroyed and a great deal of debris and dust fell through the hole. There was a loud thud of something landing on the floor.

"You're going to catch who!?" a rough, but feminine, voice yelled. "Huh, Coby!?"

The boy started shaking as the smoke cleared to reveal a large woman with long black hair, freckles and red lipstick. She wore a pink plaid shirt, blue captains coat with a red ascot around her neck, white pants, and white cowgirl hat. She wore a different colored ring on each finger, had long sharp fingernails that were polished red, and had a big spiked iron club resting against her shoulder.

"You don't seem to be Zoro, the pirate Hunter," she said, looking at the three with a smirk. "Coby!" she yelled, frightening the boy. "Who's the most beautiful of all on these seas!?"

 _'Definitely not this hag. And I'm not talking about her looks… for the most part,'_ Chris thought.

As Coby tried to stutter out a response, Luffy pointed at the woman and asked, "Who's this fat lady?"

Alvida, Coby and the pirates above them jaws dropped. Chris snorted and tried to muffle his laughter and Robin hid a smile before she spoke up.

"Now, Luffy, you shouldn't say that to a woman," she chided. She paused for a second before saying, "No matter how true."

Chris and Luffy snickered at Robin's response, as Alvida got angrier at the ones standing in front of her, gaining several tick marks. She finally lost her temper and raised her club.

"You brats!" she shouted, swinging the iron club.

They jumped out of the way as it smashed the stairs they were standing on. Luffy landed next to a terrified Coby while Chris and Robin landed on the other side.

"Let's go," Luffy said to Coby. He grabbed the boy before jumping onto the deck, making the pirates shuffle back in fright.

"You ready?" Chris asked Robin, who nodded. He wrapped his arm around her waist and jumped after their rubber captain. When they landed on the deck, he unsheathed his sword and got in an offensive stance.

Alvida's pirates charged at the three. Luffy ducked back to dodge a swing and quickly headbutted the man. One of the pirates charged from Luffy's side and tried to stab him. He jumped back punched the pirate in the face, knocking him several feet away.

Chris charged forward and clashed with another pirate. He easily started pushing the Alvida pirate backward before swinging his sword upward knocking the blade out of the pirates hand. Chris then swung his sword down and slashed his torso, making him cry out in pain.

"Chris, look out!" Coby shouted.

Chris glanced back and saw a pirate slashing at him. However, much to his and everyone's surprise, the sword simply passed through him. He then spun around and slashed the pirate across his chest.

 **"Ocho Fleur,"** Robin said, making four arms appear on two pirates before saying, **"Clutch."** Both men were bent backwards, there backs snapping. She heard a yell behind her as someone tried to attack her from behind. She stepped to the side and avoided the attack, before kicking the man in the stomach and knocking the wind out of him. Then she raised her leg and brought it down on the pirate's back, slamming him to the deck.**

Chris and Robin suddenly heard yelling and turned to see a group of pirates chasing Luffy. They were wondering if they should help when he grabbed the mast and kept running, stretching his arm. The pirates froze when they saw his arm stretch, looking between it and the boy. Luffy looked back and grinned at the men, who started to freak out and run away. However, Luffy yelled, **"Gum-Gum… Rocket!"** before launching himself at the men and bowling through the group of pirates. Coby and Alvida, who started climbing up through the hole she'd made, gaped at what Luffy did.

"L-Luffy, Chris, R-Robin… What are you guys?" Coby stuttered.

"I'm a rubber person!" Luffy answered pulling his cheek and stretching it out further than normal.

Chris dispersed into wind and reappeared next to Robin, "I suppose, you could call me a wind man."

Robin made three more arms appear at her elbow creating a plus with them and her normal arm. "I can make any part of my body appear on any surface or living thing," she said.

Coby stared at them before muttering, "Y-You all can't be serious." He then noticed a shadow over him. He jumped forward and hid behind Luffy as he looked at Alvida in fear.

"You all at a Devil Fruit, didn't you?" she questioned, though it sounded more like a statement.

Luffy finally let go of his cheek letting snap back before saying, "Yeah! I ate the Gum-Gum Fruit."

"I see," she said. "I had heard rumors, but I guess they really do exist!" She sneered, "You also seem rather skilled. Are you a bounty hunter?"

"I'm a pirate," he told her.

"A pirate?! Hah! With just the three of you?" Alvida mocked.

"For now," Luffy admitted. "But I'll find some more nakama soon." He thought for a moment, "Yeah… about ten more sounds good."

"Friends?" she asked mockingly. "You don't make nakama as a pirate, you get subordinates that listen to you or face the consequences." Luffy frowned and narrowed his eyes at the woman. "But I suppose, that you and I are enemies then."

"Luffy, l-let's get out of here!" Coby whispered urgently.

"Why?" Luffy asked, confused.

"You saw how powerful her club is," Coby said. "In these waters, she's the most…" he trailed off as he remembered what Luffy told him.

"The most what?" Alvida questioned, smirking.

"T-T-The…" he stuttered, before finally gathering his courage and yelled, "The most ugly, cragged old hag ever!"

Alvida's pirates all stared at Coby in shock with their jaws dropped while Alvida's anger skyrocketed. Chris and Luffy burst out laughing and Robin giggled.

"What did you say, Coby!?" Alvida yelled.

"I… I'm going to join the marines!" Coby shouted as the two guys continued to laugh their heads off, Luffy more so than Chris. "And then I'm gonna beat up pirates!"

"Do you even know what you are saying!?"

"Yes, I do!" Coby yelled back. "I'm going to do what I want to do! I… I'm going to join the marines… and throw your fat ass in jail!"

"You damn brat!" Alvida roared swinging her mace at the boy as he started to scream loudly.

"Well said, Coby!" Luffy said, moving in front of him. The mace slammed into his head hard enough to where the deck cracked from the force. Luffy grinned, "That won't work."

"What!?" Alvida exclaimed in shock.

"Because I'm rubber," he stated, swatting the mace off of his head, stretching his arm back as he did. **"Gum-Gum…"** He pulled his arm forward, yelling **"Pistol!"** and punching the woman in her stomach and launching her farther than any of them could see. He turned to the pirates, "Hey!"

"Yes!?" they all asked fearfully.

"Give Coby a small boat!" he said. "He's going to join the marines. Keep your mouths shut and let him go!"

"R-Right!" they stuttered.

Coby stared at Luffy in shock before slowly smiling. However, they were shocked when three explosions happened around the ship making them stagger slightly. They looked over to see three marine ships nearby.

"It's the marines," Coby said.

"Oh, perfect timing!" Luffy said. "You go see them." Coby glanced him. "But we're pirates. We gotta get out of here!" Luffy stated jumping over the railing and into a boat.

"Be serious!" Coby yelled. "I can't just join the marines like this! I'll be arrested instead." He quickly followed the rubber boy as he dropped the ship to the water.

When it hit the surface, it launched a wave of water into the air. Luffy heard a shout of surprise and turned to see an orange haired girl in a boat next to them. She wore a blue shirt, a red sash around her waist and black pants. Before anything could even be said, their attention was drawn to the sound of cannonfire. They saw a cannonball heading straight for them or, more specifically, the girl, who started panicking when she saw it.

"Hey Luffy!"

He looked up saw Chris holding Alvida's club, which he dropped down. He grabbed the iron club and held it like a bat. When the cannonball neared him, Luffy swung the club and knocked the ball away from them. At that moment, Chris landed next to Luffy, holding Robin bridal style.

Once he placed her on the small ships deck, he yelled, "Let's get out of here!" He unfurled the sails and started to sail away from the marine ships.

* * *

As she escaped, the orange haired girl watched as the four people sailed away from the marines, as well. The straw hat boy, with some help, had saved her life despite not knowing anything about her. While it was true that they were close and the explosion would have reached them, they would have more than likely been fine. She couldn't really understand why he would do that.

* * *

"Looks like we managed to get away," Coby said, glancing around, noticing they were away from the marine ships.

"Whew, that was fun!" Luffy exclaimed, laughing. Robin smiled while Chris rolled his eyes, but had a small smile too

"Um, Luffy," Coby spoke up. They all glanced at the boy, who continued, "If you are heading for the One Piece, that means you're going to the Grand Line, right?"

"Yeah," Luffy answered.

"That place is also referred to as the pirate graveyard, you know," Coby said.

"Yeah. That's why I need a strong crew," Luffy said. "What about that pirate hunter guy? What's he like?"

"You mean Zoro?" Coby asked. "I heard he's being held prisoner at a marine base."

Luffy frowned in disappointment, "So, he's a weakling?"

"Are you joking!?" Coby exclaimed. "He's as terrifying as a demon!" The three fought a smirk at his choice of words. "Why are you asking about him?" he asked after a short pause.

At this Luffy smiled, "Thought I might have him join my crew if he's a good guy."

Coby's jaw dropped in shock, "You're being reckless again!"

"C'mon, he might be a good guy," Luffy tried to defend the man he knew nothing about.

"He's been caught because he's a bad guy!" Coby yelled.

"You don't know that for sure," Chris said.

"What do you mean?" the boy asked.

Chris arched a brow, "Would you say we are bad?" Coby shook his head. "And what would happen if the marines knew what we were?"

"They'd try to capture you," he answered, hesitantly.

"Exactly, so let's meet the guy first then decide what he's like," Chris said.

Luffy smiled at his first mate agreeing with him. "Let's head to where Zoro is!" he yelled, as Coby set a course to the island.

* * *

 _ ***Yes, I just said anime tears. I'm going to be putting that to differentiate real crying from comedic crying.**_

 _ ****In response to people asking for Robin not to be weak (though I never planned on her being weak), I thought this would be a good idea. Hope you all like it.**_


	6. Chapter 6

After a few hours of sailing, the four finally reached the island that Zoro was supposedly on and where Coby might fulfill his dream of being a marine. When they pulled to port, all of them got off of the boat and Chris tied the boat to a nearby bollard.

"We made it!" Luffy exclaimed. "The marine base city."

"Um, guys?" Coby spoke up. "What do we do with that?" he asked pointing at Alvida's iron club.

Chris shrugged, "Just leave it. We can't exactly walk around with that thing slung over our shoulders."

"Not if we don't want people freaking out from just glancing at us," Robin said, the amusement in her eyes making Chris chuckle.

"What if someone tries to take it?" the boy asked, worriedly. "It's a rather dangerous weapon."

Chris glanced at the people walking around. "I really don't think we need to worry about it Coby," he said. "This island seems relatively peaceful and even if someone does try to take it, I highly doubt anyone would be able to even pick the thing up much less use it."

"If you're sure," Coby said hesitantly.

With that they all headed through the town and started making their way to the marine base. On their way, Luffy stopped at a stall and grabbed a pear. He took a bite before paying the lady attending it.

"Do you happen to know if Zoro is at the base?" he asked the woman. As soon he mentioned Zoro everyone within earshot jumped back in shock, looks of fear on their faces.

"I guess that Zoro's name is taboo here," Coby whispered to Luffy.

"Let's just check the base out," Luffy said, as they continued walking.

"That would be the safest bet, anyway," Chris said. He glanced at Coby, "You want to be a marine right?"

"Y-Yes, but I'm not really ready yet," he said, uncertainly. "Rumor has it that this bases captain is someone named Morgan and…"

He paused when as soon as the name left his mouth, everyone jumped back again fear plastered on their faces once more. However, Chris and Robin were sure that they were even more afraid of Morgan than Zoro. The thought brought unpleasant thoughts to their minds. They glanced at each other and knew they were thinking the same thing.

Luffy's laugh snapped them out of their dark thoughts as he continued walking forward. "This town is funny!" he laughed.

"That was really weird," Coby said, following Luffy. "I understand why they would be afraid of Zoro, with his reputation, but why are they terrified of the marine captain?"

At this Luffy became rather somber. "You should be aware that not all marines are the kind of marine that you aim to be Coby," he said, seriously.

"W-What do you mean?" Coby asked, nervous from the serious tone the exuberant boy was using.

"It's not my place to talk about it," Luffy answered.

Coby glanced at his other two companions. Robin's hat was slightly lowered, shadowing her eyes, while Chris had a dark look on his face, his hair moving as wind stirred around him. Robin placed a hand on his arm in an attempt to calm him down. Chris took a deep breath and calmed himself. He then wrapped an arm around Robin and pulled her close. She laid her head against his shoulder before she spoke.

"Something happened between us, more specifically me, and the marines," she said quietly.

"But you're pirates right?" Coby asked, sounding confused. "You wouldn't really have any good run-ins with them."

"We only became pirates a few days ago Coby," Chris said. "This happened long before then, when we were only kids."

"W-What would marines do to kids?" Coby asked, fearfully.

Chris looked at Robin, who glanced around to make sure that no one would overhear them. When she was sure it was safe, she looked directly into the boy's eyes.

"Physically? Nothing. However, they killed the innocent people from my home."

"What!?" Coby yelled.

"I'm pretty sure that they hadn't planned on civilians being killed, if Kuzan's reaction was anything to go by," Chris said. Noticing the dark look that crossed Robin's face at the name of Saul's killer, he removed her hat and kissed the top of her head before rubbing her shoulder comfortingly. She gave him a small smile, which he returned and put her hat back. He then continued, "But the attempt of destroying her island was not justice."

Coby just stared at Chris in disbelief. He looked like he was trying to counter what he said, but seeing the serious and sorrowful looks on their faces, couldn't say anything.

Seeing this, Robin sighed slightly, "It's true, unfortunately. But Coby, remember what Chris said a moment ago." At the boy's confused look, she continued, "It wasn't their plan to kill the civilians, so there are probably some decent people in the marines."

Coby got a thoughtful look on his face as he thought about what they had told him. They soon reached the marine base and stood in front of its gates. He was snapped out of his musings when he heard Luffy shout in excitement. They all looked at the boy to see him running to their left and climbing up the wall.

"What's up Luffy?" Chris asked, as they followed him.

"There's Zoro!" he exclaimed pointing over the wall.

"That can't be Luffy," Coby said, as Chris helped him and Robin onto the walls edge before following himself. "They would have him…" he fell silent when he saw that Zoro was indeed out in the open.

He was tied to a cross shaped wooden post with his arms and torso tied up. He wore a white shirt with its three buttons undone, black trousers and black boots, a green haramaki around his waist and had a black bandana tied around his head.

"So that's Zoro," Chris said.

"He doesn't look too good," Robin commented.

It was true, the man looked like he wasn't being fed. Which was entirely possible considering the civilians reaction to the marine captain's name. They suddenly heard a noise next to them and turned to see a ladder placed against the wall. A young girl with short red hair in small pigtails and wore a two toned striped dress with a white hood climbed up the ladder. She glanced at the four and held a finger up to her lips. She then lowered a rope before climbing down it and hurried over to Zoro.

"Oh, I know what you said earlier Chris, but what she's doing is still dangerous," Coby said, worriedly. "He might not be bad, but he is bloodthirsty."

The pirates just watched as the girl ignored Zoro trying to get her to leave and unwrapped two rice balls from the little package she had been carrying. Suddenly the metal gates at the other end of where the two were standing opened and three people approached. Two were marines and the one in the middle was a young man with blonde hair in a horrible bowl haircut and wore a purple suit and pants. He was walking with his hands in his pockets and a sneer plastered on his face.

Chris narrowed his eyes at the boy. He was getting a bad feeling from him and he wasn't the only one. Coby was watching anxiously as the three approached the girl. He would normally have felt relieved to see them going up to the girl because he figured they would lead her away from the dangerous person they were near. However, after hearing the things Chris and Robin had told him, he wasn't really sure what to feel at the moment. Their fears were confirmed when they saw the boy snatch on of the rice balls and eating it. He immediately spit it out however, claiming that it was sweet before smacking the other to the ground and stomping on it.

Chris glared at the blonde. He had a real soft spot for kids and seeing the little girl about to cry because of the brat was making him angry. He was really pissed when the bastard threatened her with execution for trying to help Zoro and then ordering one of the marines to toss her over the wall. The man, of course, hesitated, saying that she was just a child. Chris was glad that not all of the marines were jackasses. Although it seemed that the fear of the captain extended to his subordinates, as when the boy threatened his father the man hesitantly approached the girl. When he knelt down they could tell that he said something to her. He then picked her up and threw her over the wall, as she tucked herself into a ball.

Luffy wasted no time and jumped up, catching the girl before crashing into the ground. He held her close to keep her from getting injured. When he knew the girl was safe, Chris turned back and glared at the boy. He stood on top of the wall and jumped down before walking up to the four men. They noticed him and the blonde sneered.

"What are you doing?" he questioned. "If you don't want to be executed then leave immediately."

Chris scoffed, "Like any of you could even touch me." Then before any of them could say anything, he punched the boy in the gut.

The two marines and even Zoro stared at the cobalt haired man in shock. The marines could hardly believe someone else had stood up to the captain's son, while Zoro just hadn't been expecting it. The three couldn't help but wonder why he punched the boy. They soon got their answer.

"How dare you punch me," the boy wheezed.

"You are lucky that's all I did," Chris said, coldly.

"Do you know who my father is?" the blonde demanded.

"I don't care if he's an admiral. The way you treated that little girl was inexcusable. You're a horrible little bastard." He knelt down till he was eye level. "Now leave before I make you."

He wasted no time in jumping to his feet and running away, the marines following him. The boy shouting that he would tell his father. Chris just rolled his eyes.

"Hey."

Chris turned to Zoro. "Yeah?"

"You should get out of here before more marines show up," he said.

"They won't be able to do anything to me," Chris stated.

Zoro stared at the man standing in front of him. He wasn't putting up a front or boasting. Zoro had the feeling that the marines really wouldn't be able to even touch him. He also wasn't afraid of some brat and his father who only commanded people with fear.

"My captain wants you to join our crew," he suddenly spoke up, shaking Zoro from his thoughts.

He scoffed, "Why should I join his crew?"

"It wouldn't be so bad," Chris said, grinning. "He's an excitable guy, but I know he'll be able to handle anything that's thrown at him."

"Sorry, but even if I wanted to join, I can't," Zoro said. "I have to stay here for a whole month. I only have ten more days before I can leave."

Chris crossed his arms and tilted his head to the side. "I won't pry into your business and ask why," he said, surprising Zoro as most would question his reasoning. "Though I am curious. I doubt Luffy will accept that." He turned around and started to leave before Zoro spoke up.

"Hang on." Chris turned back and waited for him to say something. "Could you pick that up and give it to me?"

Chris looked down at the muddy rice ball and picked it up. He crinkled his nose in disgust, "Seriously? If it was before it was smashed I'd give it a chance, but it's caked in mud."

"Just give it to me!" Zoro shouted, before opening his mouth. Chris tossed the rice into his mouth and he started eating it. When he swallowed it, he started coughing.

"See?" Chris said.

"It was good," Zoro said, catching Chris off guard. He glanced up, "Tell the girl I said thanks."

Chris stared at the man for a moment before turning around and smirking to himself. _'Looks like I was spot on,'_ he thought.

XxX

After meeting up with the others, they all walked back to where the girl, who they learned was named Rika, lived. Chris then told the girl what Zoro had said.

"Really!?" she asked, happily.

Chris smiled at the young girl, "Yep. He ate every last bite and said thank you."

"I'm so happy," Rika said, smiling.

"I don't get it. Zoro seems like a decent guy and not really that bad," Coby said.

"He isn't bad!" Rika yelled defensively, surprising the four. "After all, he's in that situation because of me."

Seeing everyone's confused faces, she began to explain about how the Helmeppo brat from earlier brought his 'pet' wolf into her mother's bar and was disrupting everyone's meals. When the wolf started eating someone else's food, Rika ran up to the wolf and started swinging a broom at it to get it to stop. She then told them how that the wolf rushed toward her and was about to attack when a stool was thrown at the it, knocking it out. It turns out that it had been Zoro who had thrown the seat. Helmeppo had then tried to attack Zoro with his sword, but he had dodged the blade and kicked it out of the blonde's hand before punching him in the face. When Zoro had pointed his sword at Helmeppo, the brat had threatened that his father would have Rika and her mother executed. However, he made a deal with Zoro that if he survived being tied up for a month in their place, he would let them and Zoro go free.

"It's been three weeks since then," she continued. "Helmeppo punches and kicks him while he's tied up and unable to do anything." Just then they heard a crash come from inside. They all stood up and made their way inside.

* * *

A familiar orange haired girl was sitting at a table in a bar, when a blonde loud mouth barged in. He sat in a chair and set his feet on the table, smashing the basket of fruit that was on it. She watched as the self-absorbed boy rubbed his stomach with a wince before demanding to be fed and given alcohol for free. She turned away in disgust. When she did, she suddenly felt her heart skip a beat when she saw a familiar face. It was the boy that had saved her several hours ago as well as the others she had seen with him. She wondered about the feeling she had felt upon seeing the raven haired boy. She was pulled from her thoughts when she heard the brat speak up.

"I still can't believe that blue haired bastard punched me," he grumbled.

This caught the girl's attention as she looked at the only person in the bar with blue hair. _'Was he the one that attacked him? And if he did why?'_ she wondered.

"Since I'm in a bad mood and because I've been bored lately, I'm going to have Zoro executed tomorrow," he said almost casually. "Look forward to it," he laughed.

This made the girl grit her teeth. For someone to be able to talk about ending another's life so easily were nothing but heartless bastards and those that laughed about it were even worse. The sound of rapid footsteps broke her out of her anger and turned around just in time to see the boy with the straw hat run up and punch the self-centered brat, slamming him into the wall. She felt rather satisfied seeing him get sent flying by the punch.

"W-What the hell do you think you're doing!?" the blonde yelled.

The raven haired boy moved to hit him again, but a younger boy ran up and grabbed him, holding him back.

"Luffy, don't! Please calm down!" he yelled.

"That guy is scum!" the boy with the straw hat yelled.

"Y-You hit me! You're the third person to hit me," the blonde shouted. "I'm Captain Morgan's son, you know!"

"Who gives a damn!?" the raven haired boy yelled.

"I'm going to tell my dad and he's going to have you executed!"

"Don't have your father fight your battles! Fight me yourself!" Straw Hat yelled. At that point the blonde got up and fled.

"Luffy, you need to calm down!" the younger boy exclaimed. "Are you trying to get on the marine's bad side!?"

"I've made up my mind Coby!" Straw Hat started, getting the pink haired boy's attention. "I'm… going to get Zoro to join my crew!" After the declaration, he ran out of the bar, the younger boy following behind him.

Chuckling caught the girl's attention and she turned to see it was the cobalt haired man and a raven haired woman.

"I get the feeling that we won't have to be worried about being bored when we are with Luffy," he said with a grin.

The woman giggled, "I'm sure you're right."

The man then turned and saw the orange haired girl. He blinked, before walking up to her. "You are the girl we saw earlier right?"

She stiffened slightly, "Yes."

He smiled, "Well, it's good to see that you didn't get caught by the marines. Being seen near that pirate ship wouldn't have been a good thing." He then introduced himself and his companion, "I'm Chris and this is Robin. May we ask your name?"

The girl hesitated a moment before answering, "My name's Nami."

Robin smiled, "Well, it was nice meeting you Nami, but we have to go and make sure that our captain doesn't get himself in serious danger. Hopefully we'll meet again."

With that the two walked out of the bar and followed the young boys that had run ahead of them. Nami watched as they left and wondered who they were. They obviously weren't marines and she was sure that they weren't bounty hunters either. What Robin said suddenly sunk in and she stood up quickly.

"Did she say that the boy with the straw hat was their captain!?" she exclaimed to herself.

* * *

 **Meanwhile at the marine base…**

Luffy climbed the wall once again and jumped down into the yard that Zoro was tied to. He walked up to the man who looked like he had been reminded of a bad memory. He looked up at the rubber man.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Zoro asked, slightly irritated.

"I am going to untie you, so join my crew!" Luffy said, not answering both his questions. "I'm looking for people to join my pirate crew," Luffy continued, surprising Zoro.

 _'He's a pirate? And if that other guy was telling the truth he's the captain. He's younger than I am!'_ Shaking himself, Zoro shouted, "I refuse! Why should I stoop to a criminal's level!?" He scoffed, "Yeah, right."

"What's wrong with being a pirate," Luffy asked defensively.

"Pirates are despicable!" Zoro said, though his thoughts went to the man from before. Shaking his head, "As if I would want to be one."

"Oh, come on," Luffy said, smiling. "People already call you an evil bounty hunter."

"Like I give a damn what people say. I ain't done anything I regret," Zoro said. He grinned defiantly, "I _will_ live through this and accomplish what I want."

"Hm. Yeah?" Luffy muttered, staring at Zoro. He turned and crossed his arms, "But I've already decided you're going to join!"

"You can't just decide that for me!" Zoro yelled angrily.

"I heard that you use swords," Luffy said, not listening to his objections.

"Yes, I do. But that idiotic son took them from me…"

"I'll go get them back for you."

"What!?"

Luffy grinned, "So if you want your sword, you'll have to join my crew!"

"That's blackmail you bastard!" Zoro shouted.

Luffy just laughed and ran off. Zoro stared after the boy wondering what the hell was going on in his head. He then realized the imbecile was heading the wrong way.

"You idiot!" he yelled. "The base is the other direction!" Luffy paused and glanced back. Zoro sighed in irritation.

 **"Gum-Gum Rocket!"**

Zoro looked up at the shout and stared in shock as Luffy shot passed him. He gaped after him and wondered just who the hell the boy was.

* * *

 **A little while later...**

By the time the two returned to the base, Luffy was nowhere to be seen, but they saw a group of marines aiming their rifles at Coby and Zoro. Behind the marines was a giant of a man with an ax attached to his arm, who was most likely Captain Morgan.

"Fire!" Morgan yelled.

Chris started gathering wind when he heard glass shattering and saw something flying towards Coby and Zoro. Luffy landed in front of the two, with three swords tied to his back, before the bullets reached them and took the shots. Zoro and Coby shouted in shock, but they, along with the marines, went wide eyed when they saw his body stretch and stop the bullets.

Luffy grinned before flinging the bullets back, yelling, "That doesn't work!" He then started laughing, "See? I told you I'm strong!"

Still in shock, Zoro questioned, "W-Who the hell are you?!"

"I'm Monkey D. Luffy," he answered. His grin widened, "The man who's going to be King of the Pirates!"

"T-The King of the Pirates?! Do you even know what that means!?"

"King of the Pirates is the King of the Pirates," Luffy responded laughing as he did. "Are there some other meanings for it?"

"Hey, Luffy," a voice spoke up.

They all looked up to see a man standing on the post holding Zoro.

Luffy grinned, "Hey Chris!"

"You!" Zoro exclaimed.

Chris chuckled, "Hey you two. Robin's here too." He pointed at the wall where said woman was sitting casually on top of it. "Need any help?"

Luffy waved a hand, "Naw, our new crewmate and I can handle it." Zoro growled, but before he could say anything, Luffy held out the swords. "Here. Which one's yours? I couldn't tell, so I thought I'd bring them all."

"They're all mine," he stated. "I use Santoryu."

"You'll take them right?" Luffy asked. "If we fight together now, you'll be a government-defying villain! Would prefer that, or being killed by the navy like this?"

Chris sweatdropped, _'Was he always this devious?'_

"What are you, the Devil's son?" Zoro questioned, making Chris snort for several reasons. "Well, whatever. I'll be a pirate, if I'm just gonna die here instead!"

As Luffy cheered for his new member, the other three heard shouts and saw the marines charging at them with swords drawn.

"Let's get you out of there shall we?" Chris said.

The ropes binding Zoro fell to the ground. However, before he could wonder what happened the marines were on them, swords raised over their heads. Snatching his swords from Luffy, he quickly drew them and blocked all of the marine's swords.

Chris let out an impressed whistle, while Luffy grinned and exclaimed, "So cool!"

Zoro glanced back at the marines, "Move and you're dead."

They started crying anime tears, terrified of the man in front of them.

The swordsman faced forward again and addressed Luffy, "I will be a pirate, I promise you that. I'm officially a criminal, now that I have fought the marines. But I'll tell you this now. I'm going to fulfill my ambition!"

"Ambition?" Luffy questioned, interested.

"To be the world's greatest swordsman!" Zoro answered. "If I wind up having to give that up, you'd better be ready for the consequences!"

"The world's greatest swordsman? That sounds great." He grinned, "The King of the Pirates would need no less than that on his crew!"

"You sure talk big. At this point, whether it's as a criminal or whatever else, I will spread my name throughout the world!"

"What are you standing around for!?" Morgan shouted. "Slaughter them this instant!"

"Zoro, duck!" Luffy yelled, raising his leg in the air. **"Gum-Gum Whip!"** He stretched his leg out in a sweeping kick.

Zoro's eyes widened and he ducked under Luffy's leg as it slammed into the marines, sending them flying backwards. Everyone, sans Chris and Coby, stared at Luffy in shock.

"What are you?" Zoro questioned.

Luffy grinned before stretching his cheek out, "I ate the Gum-Gum Fruit, and now I'm a rubberman!"

"You ate a Devil Fruit?" the swordsman asked in shock.

"W-We can't fight someone with that of ability," one of the marine's stuttered.

"This is an order to all cowards. Shoot yourselves now for not following orders!" Morgan ordered. "I have no need for weaklings."

Everyone stared in shock, horror, and, in the pirates case, outrage. Their own captain was telling them to kill themselves because they were facing someone stronger than them.

Chris gritted his teeth, "Luffy if you're going to deal with him please do before I decide to do it myself."

He barely finished his sentence when Luffy charged forward, a look of determination on his face. He raced toward the captain, completely ignoring his subordinates. He threw a punch at Morgan, but the man blocked the attack with his ax hand.

Morgan grabbed his coat and tossed it to the side, "Rankless, low status bums have no right at all to defy me! I am Marine Captain 'Ax-Hand' Morgan."

"I'm Luffy," he introduced, as if they were about to have a conversation. "Nice to meetcha."

"Die!" Morgan yelled, lunging forward and swinging his ax at Luffy.

The rubber boy easily dodge the slash, by jumping behind the marine. Turning around, Morgan lifted his ax arm into the air and, grabbing the weird handle sticking out of his elbow, swung it down as hard as he could. Luffy jumped straight up to avoid being bisected. The ax hit the ground and created a large crack, showing the man's strength.

Luffy brought his legs up and kicked out with both his feet, kicking Morgan right in the face. The impact lifted him off his feet and back several feet. The marines stared in shock at the captain being knocked backwards. Luffy ran toward Morgan, who raised his ax hand again.

"Die!" he yelled once more, swinging downward.

The rubber boy jumped into the air while spinning, avoiding the slash. "No thanks!" Luffy shouted back, before kicking Morgan in the side of his head. The marines continued to stare in shock as their captain was launched onto his ass again. Luffy grabbed his shirt and started punching him as he yelled, "You've destroyed Coby's dream!"

After several punches a voice yelled out, "Hey Luffy!" He looked up to see Chris standing next to Coby with the blonde brat from before in a headlock. "Finish him already."

Luffy nodded before dropping the captain. He threw his leg up high into the air. "You're 'Ax-Hand' Morgan huh? Then how about you take my **Gum-Gum...** " He pulled his leg downward and yelled, **"Ax!"** He slammed his foot into Morgan's stomach making him cough up blood from the impact.

"Dad!" the boy yelled, as the captain lossed consciousness.

"Oh, shut up," Chris said. He looked up to the swordsman. "Hey Zoro! He nearly had you executed you want to take care of him?"

Smiling viciously, Zoro walked over to them. The brat tried tried to escape Chris' grip, but he held strong. Zoro held his swords behind him and bent forward.

 **"Oni…"** he charged forward, slashing with all three of his blades. **"Giri!"**

The blonde went limp and Chris dropped him to the ground. He was somewhat surprised to not see any blood. Glancing back, he was shocked to see that Zoro's swords, even the one in his mouth, were suddenly reversed, having the blunt side out.

"He wasn't worth sullying my blades with," Zoro said, noticing his gaze.

"He beat the Captain," a marine said in disbelief.

Zoro and Luffy were prepared to fight the rest of the marines, but Chris had a distinct feeling that it wasn't necessary. He was proven right when they all cheered and some even began dancing in joy.

"Never thought I would see marines celebrating a commanding officers defeat before," Zoro said, before he suddenly fell backwards with a dull thud.

"Zoro!" the three shouted. They rushed over, but froze when they heard a growling sound.

"Ugh, I'm hungry," the swordsman groaned making Coby smile awkwardly, Chris to facepalm and Luffy laugh. From the wall, Robin smiled at the fours antics.

* * *

Unknown to anyone, Nami had watched the fight take place. She was surprised that the three were pirates. When the 'captain' of the marines had ordered his subordinates to kill themselves all of the pirates looked positively pissed that the man ordered them to do such a thing. Then there was the blond brat that had tried to take the pink haired boy hostage. Chris easily grabbed him and kept him from doing anything. She had been stunned to see the boy, Luffy if she heard the pink haired boy right, stretch himself like he did.

She honestly didn't know what to think. All of that along with them saving her and what had happened back at the bar conflicted greatly on what she thought of pirates. Shaking herself, she entered the base. With the captain defeated, now was the perfect time to find what she was looking for.

* * *

Zoro let out a content sigh as he leaned back in his chair patting his stomach. "That was delicious," he said.

"You know eating like that usually isn't good after starving yourself like you did," Chris warned.

The swordsmen shrugged, "I've been through it before."

Chris sweatdropped while Robin giggled.

"You're full already?" Luffy asked.

"How can you eat more than me!? I'm the one that went without eating anything for three weeks!" Zoro exclaimed.

"It's good," the rubber boy defended. "Right, Coby?"

"Thank you for treating me too," the younger boy said, embarrassedly.

Rika's mother smiled and said, "It's no problem. You all saved the town from that awful man after all."

"You were amazing!" Rika told Luffy excitedly.

"Yeah, I am! And I'm gonna be even more amazing," he said. "Cause I'm gonna be King of the Pirates." He glanced at his friends, "I even have a crew!"

"So, who else have you gathered besides us?" Zoro asked, gesturing at his fellow crewmates. "I mean you said that you were going to be King of the Pirates, so I assume that you have a good number of people."

"Actually it's just us at the moment," Chris told him. At Zoro's disbelieving look, the wind human shrugged, "We only started a few days ago."

"Besides the four of us are strong," Luffy said, confidently.

"Well what about a ship?"

Robin couldn't keep the smirk off of her face, imagining the look on Zoro's face, as she pointed out the window, "It's out there."

He stood up and walked over to the window to look outside. Once he reached it, he saw a small boat, with a giant iron club, that looked like it could fit four people on it.

"That?" Zoro deadpanned, a sweatdrop going down the back of his head.

Robin couldn't hold it in and she started laughing at his reaction. Chris just smiled, it had been a good while since someone besides him had managed to make her actually laugh. Then again his reaction and expression was hilarious.

Oblivious to his crew's amusement and disappointment, Luffy said excitedly, "We'll have a huge ship before long!"

That made Zoro bust out laughing himself as he asked, "And how's that!?"

"And I'd like a pirate flag, too!" he continued not listening. He nodded to himself as he imagined his ideal ship. "Yeah, yeah. So cool!"

"I think Luffy was born without any sense of planning," Coby said.

"You have no idea," Chris said, as Zoro pinched the bridge of his nose and Robin continued to giggle at Zoro.

"Did I really just join this guy's crew?" the swordsman muttered to himself.

Chris rolled his eyes, "Would you relax? Like I said a minute ago, we only started a few days ago. It's not that hard to believe that we have yet to get a decent pirate ship."

"Why exactly would you set sail without one?" Zoro demanded.

"The village we set sail from was relatively small, Zoro," Chris explained. "They didn't have anything like an actual pirate ship." He paused for a moment before chuckling, "I doubt the mayor would let them build a ship for us even if we asked."

Robin giggled, while Luffy sulked slightly.

"Hey, Luffy! Where are you guys gonna go to now?" Rika asked.

"Isn't it obvious? The Grand Line of course," he exclaimed.

Coby suddenly spit out the juice he had been drinking, "Are you crazy Luffy!? Even if there are four of you that's not near enough for you to head there!"

"Is the Grand Line that dangerous?" Rika questioned.

"Of course it is," Coby said. "Ever since Gol D. Roger said that he left the great One Piece treasure there, it's now an intense battlefield, and is even called the pirate graveyard!"

"I heard from some patrons that people who enter the Grand Line never come out alive," Rika's mother spoke up.

"But the One Piece is there somewhere, so we are going there," Luffy said.

Zoro leaned back in his chair, "Guess it can't be helped."

Chris chuckled, "Nothing's really going to be able to stop him."

"Not you guys too!" Coby shouted.

"What does it matter?" Zoro questioned. "You're not going, are you?"

"W-Well, no, but I'm worried about you! Is that so wrong!?" he exclaimed. "I mean, Luffy, Chris, Robin, and I haven't known each other long, but we are friends." He paused for a second, "Right?"

"Yeah! We're gonna part ways, but we will always be friends," Luffy said, Chris and Robin nodding in agreement.

Just then the doors opened, gaining all of their attention. Standing in the doorway was the marines from the base. One man walked forward with his hands behind his back and his head lowered slightly. He wore the standard marine uniform, but had a green ascot instead of blue. His skin was dark and had a goatee.

"Is it true that the four of you are pirates!?" he asked.

Chris narrowed his eyes and, as he had been standing, inched closer to Robin as Luffy spoke.

"Yeah. We gained a new nakama," he answered.

"We appreciate that you saved our base and this town from that tyrant," the man thanked them. "However, now that we know you are pirates, in the name of the marines, we cannot stand by quietly." He fell silent for a moment before looking directly at them, "You will leave this town at once! Out of obligation, we will refrain from contacting headquarters."

This was immediately met with shouts of outrage. The towns people were yelling at the marines to let them be for liberating their town.

Luffy just smiled as he stood up, "Well, I guess we should go. Thanks for the food, miss!"

"You guys are leaving already," Rika asked, sadly.

Chris smiled at the little girl and patted her head, "Yeah, we need to head out."

The four started leaving the bar, all of them passing by Coby.

"Aren't you part of their crew?" the marine asked Coby.

The pink haired boy stiffened, "Eh? I…" They all paused as Coby stammered. "I'm…"

They turned to leave, but the man called out, "Hold on! Is he part of your crew?!"

"Part of our crew? No, but I know what he's been doing up til now," Luffy answered.

Coby turned to the rubber boy and stared at him in disbelief. _'Luffy, you wouldn't!'_ he thought, panic stricken.

"There was this reeaally fat pirate lady," he started, getting a snort from Chris. "I think she said her name was Ahiruda." Robin shook her head in amusement at him getting the name wrong. Luffy then started to walk up to Coby as he continued, "She had this huge iron club, that we took. Man, she was an ugly hag!" He reached the boy and started poking him in the head, "And for two whole years this guy was-"

He was cut off when Coby reached up and punched him. Chris went from smiling knowingly to blinking in surprise at the fact he actually hit Luffy, even if it didn't hurt. Zoro smirked and Robin smiled as they had also realized what Luffy was doing.

After a second Coby realized what he had done and stared at Luffy in shock. Luffy just smiled as he pulled his arm back.

"Now you've done it, you bastard!" he yelled, throwing his arm forward and punching Coby back. He punched the boy several times before the marines recovered from their shock.

"That's enough," the marine yelled. "We won't allow you to cause anymore trouble in this town!"

Chris grabbed the back of the rubber boy's shirt and yanked him back, "I think you made your point, Luffy."

"It's clear that he isn't part of your crew!" the marine yelled. "Leave this town now!"

Luffy grinned before placing his hat that had fallen off back on his head. The four pirates then exited the bar and started to make their way back to the pier.

When they were far enough away, Zoro spoke up, "That was some pretty lame acting. Wouldn't be surprised if the saw completely through it."

"Coby'll handle the rest on his own now. I just know it," Luffy said, confidently.

"It's certainly a nice way to leave, though," the swordsman commented. "Being unable to turn back cause everyone hates you- it's very pirate like."

Luffy laughed as he took the rope off of the bollard, "That's true!"

"Luffy!" they heard a familiar voice call out. They turned around to see Coby, Rika, and her mother standing at the edge of the town. To their surprise, Coby saluted them, "Thank you! I'll never forget all you have done for me!"

"I've never heard of a pirate being thanked by a marine before," Zoro said, with a smirk.

Luffy just grinned and chuckled as Chris and Robin glanced at each other, wondering if, with time, that he might do some good for people and make changes to the marines. They all boarded the ship and set sail.

Luffy waved at the three and yelled, "Let's meet again someday, Coby!"

"Bye, Luffy, Chris, Robin, Zoro!" they heard Rika yell.

A sudden yell got their attention, "All hands, salute!" They were treated to an unusual sight. All of the marines saluted the four pirates.

"We've barely started our journey and we've already seen Luffy change something," Chris whispered to Robin.

Robin nodded, "Yes, and I wonder what else he'll affect with his attitude."

Luffy stood at the stem of the ship and said, "Alright! We're off with our new nakama!"

"Looks like some pretty good adventures will be waiting for us," Zoro said.

"I'm sure that you're right, Zoro," Chris agreed.

Luffy made a sound of agreement and excitement. He stared ahead before yelling, "I will be King of the Pirates!"

"You seem really obsessed with becoming King of the Pirates," Zoro brought up. "Is there a reason for that?"

"Not really," the rubber boy said. "Just…"

"Just?" Zoro prodded.

"I swore to a certain man that I would gather an amazing crew, find the world's greatest treasure, and become King of the Pirates!" Luffy exclaimed. "This straw hat knows." He pointed forward and shouted, "Alright! Time to head for the Grand Line!"

Chris and Robin grinned while Zoro smirked as they continued sailing, the sun setting, but their journey was only getting started.


End file.
